Democrats deride veterans affairs secretary for repeating false claims about Alex Pretti’s killing

Democratic lawmakers assailed Doug Collins, the Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary for repeating Trump administration’s claims on the killing of Alex Pretti, a VA nurse shot 10 times by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis, during a congressional hearing Wednesday.Are you going to “correct your cabinet colleagues when they called him a terrorist?” Mark Takano, a Democratic representative of California and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs’ ranking member, asked Collins. The secretary declined to answer.The exchange came as Collins testified before the House committee about a plan to dramatically restructure the VA, which operates the nation’s largest integrated hospital system, serving nine million veterans annually.Federal records show the agency has lost more than 30,000 employees, including thousands of doctors, nurses and other “mission-critical” healthcare providers during the second Trump administration. Critics say Collins is working to privatise the VA.They note the agency recently posted a $1tn, 10-year contract, encouraging private insurance companies to bid on private healthcare to veterans at the same time the public system is hemorrhaging staff.“It’s not a reduction of force. It’s not diminished care,” Collins countered. “It’s about brothers and sisters in arms taking care of each other.”When Takano asked Collins if he would consider paying hefty signing bonuses to recruit VA employees similar to those the Trump administration has been paying to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, it devolved into a screaming match.Collins countered that he would like congressional authorization to pay doctors more money: “Quit yelling at me!” he said.The Elizabeth Dole Act, which Joe Biden signed two weeks before leaving office in January 2025, already gives the secretary legal authority to raise the salary cap for up to 300 doctors a year.A VA report filed to Congress in January revealed the agency closed 1,000 hospital and nursing home beds across the country last fiscal year. “VA continues right-sizing resources to meet the changing demands for Veterans’ healthcare needs,” it said, “as well as an increased challenge in recruiting and retaining critical bedside staff needed to safely operate its inpatient units”.Republican lawmakers were generally supportive of the administration, but some expressed concern the Trump administration had not presented the committee with detailed plans to re-organize the agency, as required by law.“If VA begins the implementation before Congress receives the detailed plan, how does VA ensure it is not effectively circumventing that statute?” the committee chairman, Mike Bost of Illinois, asked.“Because I follow the law, Mr Chairman,” Collins replied.Throughout the tense hearing, Democrats repeatedly pressed Collins for further comments on Pretti’s death. During his opening testimony, Collins expressed his “deepest sympathies” to Pretti’s family and said he would not comment further.“As you know, his death is currently being investigated – VA is not involved in that investigation,” Collins said during his opening testimony. “And neither I nor my fellow panelists are able to provide any additional details at this time.”Pretti, a VA nurse, was shot and killed in Minneapolis by two Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials on 24 January. Pretti’s death followed the killing of Renee Nicole Good, another US citizen shot in Minneapolis earlier that month by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, while in her car.A day after Pretti’s shooting, Collins blamed his death on state and local officials’ “refusal to cooperate with the federal government”. Other Trump administration officials, including Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, called Pretti a “domestic terrorist”.“You peddled some of the same trash” as Noem, Delia Ramirez, an Illinois Democrat, told Collins during Wednesday’s hearing. “Would you call for Secretary Noem to resign, given her execution of a VA employee?” Ramirez asked, with an enormous image of Pretti blown up behind her.“I have said all on this issue that I’m going to say,” Collins replied.Other Trump administration officials this week, including top immigration officials, also refused to speak on Pretti’s death when testifying before congress this week.During the hearing, Ramirez also grilled Collins on deported veterans. In the past year, Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly questioned the Trump administration on the increasing number of non-citizen veterans being arrested by immigration officials and deported to other countries.Ramirez questioned whether deported veterans still receive the benefits they are entitled to. Collins seemed blindsided by the question.“On that question, I’ll be frank with you, on that question – 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 told Collins the committee could not “trust anything that is coming from your office”, accusing him of not caring about Pretti’s shooting and claiming that he lacked “commitment to integrity”. She also said Collins peddles “lies, half-truths, and misinformation”.