LIVE TV

© 2026 WGCU News

PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida

LIVE TV

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Trump names former Georgia Congressman Doug Collins as his pick to lead the VA

NPR | By Stephen Fowler

Published November 14, 2024 at 7:10 PM EST

Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican from Georgia, speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on June 17, 2020. President-elect Donald Trump has named Collins as his pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Former Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, a key defender of President-elect Donald Trump during his first impeachment proceedings, has been nominated to be the secretary for veterans affairs.

"Doug is a Veteran himself, who currently serves our Nation as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command, and fought for our Country in the Iraq War," Trump said in a statement Thursday announcing the pick. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need. Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our Country in this very important role!"

With the selection, Trump has now elevated four of the eight Republicans who defended him during the first impeachment proceeding against him for prominent roles in the incoming administration.

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin has been tapped as the proposed head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Former Rep. John Ratcliffe has been named Trump's pick for CIA director and Rep. Elise Stefanik will be nominated as the United Nations ambassador.

Collins is a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve Command who served in the House from 2013 to 2021. He unsuccessfully lobbied Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to name him to the Senate vacancy that opened up in 2019 after then-Sen. Johnny Isakson stepped down due to health concerns. He finished third in a special election primary in 2020 behind Kemp's eventual pick, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who ultimately prevailed in a Jan. 2021 runoff.

Collins' selection follows Trump's announcement on Tuesday that he was nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as secretary of defense.

Copyright 2024 NPR

Tags

Stephen Fowler

Stephen Fowler is a political reporter with NPR's Washington Desk and will be covering the 2024 election based in the South. Before joining NPR, he spent more than seven years at Georgia Public Broadcasting as its political reporter and host of the Battleground: Ballot Box podcast, which covered voting rights and legal fallout from the 2020 presidential election, the evolution of the Republican Party and other changes driving Georgia's growing prominence in American politics. His reporting has appeared everywhere from the Center for Public Integrity and the Columbia Journalism Review to the PBS NewsHour and ProPublica.

More from WGCU

Environment

Introduction to White Ibises

Dr. Jerry Jackson

White Ibises are common birds of Florida wetlands that increase in numbers with arrival of migrants from more northern areas. While they normally feed in shallow water, they have also become birds of grassy areas such as our yards, parks, and highway and canal rights-of-way. Adults have white plumage with only the tips of outer primaries black -- a characteristic that reduces wear of those feathers. Sex of adults is often easy to distinguish when the birds are in a group. Males are larger with a longer, straighter (but still curved) bill.Females are smaller with a shorter, often more-curved bill. Young White Ibises always have white on their underparts, but recent fledglings can be almost all gray-brown. Over their first year the more-gray plumage is replaced by brown and then gradually changes to the white of an adult. Through much of the year the legs, bill, and face of a White Ibis is flesh-colored or pink, but as nesting approaches the bill, face, and legs become vibrant red. Both sexes have beautiful light blue eyes.
Arts & Culture

Four art festivals visit Southwest Florida February 6-8

Tom Hall

Four outdoor art festivals dot the Southwest Florida landscape this weekend: ArtFest Fort Myers, Bonita Springs National Art Festival, the Pine Island Art Association Annual Art Show and the 38th Annual Downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts.
Health

'Go Red For Women' event helps put the focus on heart disease

Jennifer Crawford

National Wear Red Day 2026 was celebrated on Friday via the Go Red for Women Campaign shining a light on heart disease, the leading killer of women. The Southwest Florida Go Red for Women effort took center stage at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon Thursday.