Confirmation hearing for Trump’s VA Sec pick delayed over FBI check

The confirmation hearing for Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins, originally scheduled for Tuesday morning, has been postponed by Senate leaders to Jan. 21 because of missing background paperwork, officials said Monday.

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee leaders said the delay is not the fault of Collins, a former U.S. House representative from Georgia who is expected to be confirmed as the next VA leader in coming weeks. Rather, the delay is one of several announced by Republican lawmakers because of missing background checks from FBI officials.

“Congressman Doug Collins has submitted all his paperwork in a timely manner and has been transparent and forthcoming with the committee,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the committee chairman. “At this time, the FBI has not completed its customary background check of Congressman Collins. In accordance with long-standing practice, the committee should have an opportunity to review Congressman Collins’ FBI file before the confirmation hearing.”

On Monday, Fox News reported that two other confirmation hearings — Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary — will not be scheduled until that same paperwork is provided to lawmakers.

Collins had been scheduled to answer questions from senators on Tuesday morning, the first of 15 confirmation hearings scheduled before Senate panels this week alone. The delay means that Collins likely won’t be confirmed for the top Veterans Affairs post until after Trump’s inauguration, scheduled for Jan. 20.

The president-elect in recent weeks has pushed the Republican-controlled Senate to move quickly on his nominations — and in particular his Cabinet picks — to ensure his team is in place as soon as possible after he takes office.

But a delay of several days or weeks for some of those posts is not unusual. Collins’ predecessor, current VA Secretary Denis McDonough, was not confirmed by the Senate until three weeks after President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that all of the proper security checks must be completed before any nominees are brought up for confirmation votes.

“These nominees will have enormous power,” Schumer said. “Every American has to go through some background check and be asked questions when they’re applying for a job. These jobs are so important, so of course that should happen here.”