The confirmation hearings for Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins and Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum, initially scheduled for Jan. 14, have been postponed amid delays in the vetting process.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said he has postponed the confirmation hearing for Collins to Jan. 21—the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
In a Jan. 13 statement, Moran said that Collins had submitted all the necessary paperwork “in a timely manner” but the FBI has not yet completed its customary background check of the nominee.
“In accordance with long-standing practice, the committee should have an opportunity to review Congressman Collins’ FBI file before the confirmation hearing,” Moran said.
“I expect the FBI to complete its review quickly so that the committee can move forward with its role of evaluating the President’s nominee,” he added.
Collins was a member of the House of Representatives serving Georgia’s ninth district between 2013 and 2021. He sat on the House Judiciary Committee and served as vice chair of the House Republican Committee.
A U.S. Air Force Reserve chaplain, the Gainesville, Georgia, native also served in Georgia’s House of Representatives. He has a wife, Lisa, and three children: sons Copelan and Cameron and daughter Jordan.
Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the Senate committee has delayed Burgum’s hearing from Jan. 14 to Jan. 16.
Lee stated that Burgum had been “fully cooperative” throughout the vetting process and promptly submitted his paperwork to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). He said the delay was caused by the OGE.
“Despite his compliance and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee noticing the hearing in accordance with all rules, OGE has yet to complete its review. This bureaucratic delay is unacceptable,” he said.
In a statement announcing the delay, Lee called on the OGE to “act with urgency and complete its review without further unnecessary delays.”
The delay came after Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the committee’s ranking member, and his fellow Democrats sent a letter to Lee urging him to postpone the hearing for at least a week because the committee had yet to receive Burgum’s financial disclosure report and ethics agreement.
“In view of the fact that the Committee still does not have these documents, which are essential for us to faithfully discharge our constitutional advice-and-consent responsibilities, we respectfully request that you postpone the scheduled hearing on Governor Burgum’s nomination for at least a week to give Members sufficient time to receive and review these materials,” they stated in a Jan. 13 letter.
Heinrich also issued a statement on Jan. 8 accusing the chairman of breaching the protocol by scheduling the confirmation hearing before the required documents were received.
“I am extremely disappointed that Chairman Lee has scheduled the first Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing over my objection and before basic information has been given to the Committee. This is a breach of protocol and precedent, established over decades by Chairs of both parties,” he stated.
Heinrich said that he would not agree to holding hearings until the nominee completed the vetting process, which includes submitting a financial disclosure form, gaining approval from the Department’s ethics office, and completing an FBI background check.
“Every nominee, every party, every administration should be subject to the same standards. I would urge Chairman Lee to reconsider his decision,” he stated.
Burgum served as governor of North Dakota for two terms, first elected in 2016. Trump has also nominated him to lead the new National Energy Council.
Trump said the council will include departments and agencies “involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of all forms of American energy.”
Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times