Pretti, a VA nurse, was shot by federal agents in Minneapolis and was labeled a ‘terrorist’ by the administration
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...
Pretti, a VA nurse, was shot by federal agents in Minneapolis and was labeled a ‘terrorist’ by the administration Democratic lawmakers assailed Doug Collins, the Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary fo...