Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Sen. Blumenthal asks Collins whether federal hiring freeze would affect veterans’ benefits
Posted
January 21, 2025
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January 21, 2025
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct., questioned Doug Collins, in his confirmation hearing for veterans affairs secretary before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on Tuesday.
Blumenthal raised whether one of President Donald Trump’s first executive orders — a hiring freeze on federal positions — would disrupt veterans' benefits. The senator said his concern did not lie with the employees who disperse the benefits, but those who provide care to veterans, such as doctors and nurses at facilities. Blumenthal said the specific language used in the order seemed to include this group of employees in the hiring freeze.
Collins said he’s still reviewing the memo, but that Trump with this order, “is to get an assessment of where we are.”
Blumenthal asked Collins if he’d seek an exception to the freeze for these employees, “who are needed to care for veterans at medical facilities and other places.” This would include the veterans crisis line, the senator added.
“No one on the veteran health care side is going to miss their health care provider because of this new hiring freeze,” he said. “The president is doing a prudent step as he comes into office to make sure we have a good handle on what we got.”
Collins is a colonel and chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command who was stationed in Iraq in 2008. The former lawmaker, who is also a lawyer, was one of President Donald Trump’s defenders in his first impeachment case during his first term. During his time in Congress, Collins did not serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
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