Veterans Affairs Secretary Under Fire for Repeating False Claims About Pretti Killing

Veterans Affairs Secretary Faces Heated Congressional Questioning Over Agency Changes and Nurse’s Death

Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins during a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday, particularly regarding the Trump administration’s characterization of Alex Pretti, a VA nurse killed by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis.

During the hearing before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, ranking member Mark Takano (D-California) directly asked Collins if he would “correct your cabinet colleagues when they called him a terrorist.” Collins declined to address the question.

The confrontation came as Collins testified about a controversial plan to restructure the VA, which operates America’s largest integrated hospital system serving nine million veterans annually. Federal records reveal the agency has lost over 30,000 employees during the second Trump administration, including thousands of doctors, nurses, and other “mission-critical” healthcare workers.

Critics argue Collins is advancing privatization of veteran healthcare services. They point to the agency’s recent $1 trillion, 10-year contract solicitation inviting private insurance companies to bid on providing healthcare to veterans, even as the public system struggles with staffing shortages.

“It’s not a reduction of force. It’s not diminished care,” Collins insisted during the hearing. “It’s about brothers and sisters in arms taking care of each other.”

The exchange between Takano and Collins escalated when the congressman asked whether the secretary would consider implementing signing bonuses for VA employees similar to those offered to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Collins responded that he would prefer congressional authorization to increase physician pay, exclaiming, “Quit yelling at me!”

Democratic lawmakers quickly noted that the Elizabeth Dole Act, signed by President Biden shortly before leaving office in January 2025, already grants the secretary authority to raise salary caps for up to 300 doctors annually.

A January VA report to Congress revealed the agency closed 1,000 hospital and nursing home beds nationwide during the previous fiscal year, citing “changing demands for Veterans’ healthcare needs” and “increased challenge in recruiting and retaining critical bedside staff.”

While Republican lawmakers generally supported the administration’s approach, some expressed concerns about transparency. Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-Illinois) questioned whether the VA was bypassing legal requirements by not providing Congress with detailed reorganization plans.

“If VA begins the implementation before Congress receives the detailed plan, how does VA ensure it is not effectively circumventing that statute?” Bost asked.

“Because I follow the law, Mr. Chairman,” Collins replied.

Throughout the hearing, Democrats pressed Collins repeatedly about Pretti’s death. The VA nurse was shot and killed by two Customs and Border Protection officials on January 24 in Minneapolis. His death followed another shooting in the same city earlier that month, when Renee Nicole Good, also a U.S. citizen, was killed by an ICE official while in her car.

In his opening testimony, Collins expressed “deepest sympathies” to Pretti’s family but declined further comment, noting that “his death is currently being investigated – VA is not involved in that investigation.”

However, just one day after Pretti’s shooting, Collins had publicly blamed the death on state and local officials’ “refusal to cooperate with the federal government.” Other administration officials, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, characterized Pretti as a “domestic terrorist.”

Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Illinois) confronted Collins directly: “You peddled some of the same trash” as Noem, she said, with an enlarged image of Pretti displayed behind her. “Would you call for Secretary Noem to resign, given her execution of a VA employee?”

“I have said all on this issue that I’m going to say,” Collins responded.

The hearing also addressed concerns about deported veterans. Ramirez questioned whether non-citizen veterans who have been deported still receive their entitled benefits, an issue that appeared to catch Collins unprepared.

“Depending on their legal status and everything, and how they’d actually get veterans their benefits, we’ll have to see what that actually says,” Collins replied.

Ramirez concluded by telling Collins the committee could not “trust anything that is coming from your office,” accusing him of lacking “commitment to integrity” and peddling “lies, half-truths, and misinformation.”