‘Mad Dog’ Doug Collins Is the Unlikely GOP Star of Impeachment
The Georgia Rep. is perhaps Trump’s biggest asset in the House inquiry
The House Judiciary Committee began its hearings in Trump’s impeachment inquiry on Wednesday, which means it’s also time for an unlikely figure, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, to get a star turn of his own.
The four-term Republican and Iraq War veteran, who’s been the ranking member on the committee since last year, has long been known on the Hill for his folksy, affable demeanor. Since the launch of the impeachment inquiry in November, he’s also become one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest defenders — a position that’s left Democrats frustrated and Republicans singing his praises.
“He was not someone in the 115th Congress who took a great deal of interest in the investigations that were adjacent to this presidency, [but] since then he has gone to work like a madman,” said Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican who also sits on the Judiciary Committee. “He has studied every transcript, reviewed the hearing material, and he’s done a great job leading our team.” Gaetz initially opposed Collins’ ascension to the top slot in the committee, in part because he sensed Collins had no interest in conducting investigations into the Obama administration or Hillary Clinton. But now…
