Mike Collins | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's10th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Jody Hice |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Allen Collins Jr. (1967-07-02)July 2, 1967 (age 58) Jackson, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Leigh Ann Collins |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Mac Collins (father) |
| Education | Georgia State University (BA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Michael Allen Collins Jr. (born July 2, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving as theU.S. representative forGeorgia's 10th congressional district since 2023. He is a member of theRepublican Party.
Born and raised inJackson, Georgia, Collins graduated fromGeorgia State University in 1990 with abachelor's degree inbusiness administration. He is the son of the lateMac Collins, who served as a U.S. Representative for Georgia's 8th congressional district from 1993 to 2005. Before entering politics, Collins established himself as a successful entrepreneur. In the early 1990s, he and his wife, Leigh Ann, founded atrucking company. He also served on the board and as chairman of one of Georgia's largest credit unions and as president of his localchamber of commerce.
In 2022, Collins announced his candidacy for Georgia's 10th congressional district after incumbentJody Hice decided not to seek reelection. He secured the Republican nomination after a runoff election againstVernon Jones and won thegeneral election on November 8, 2022, defeatingDemocratic nominee Tabitha Johnson-Green.
Born inJackson, Georgia, Collins attended Piedmont Academy in nearbyMonticello, graduating in 1985. He later graduated fromGeorgia State University in 1990 with abachelor's degree in business. He has owned and operated several businesses, including a trucking company.[1]
Collins ran to representGeorgia's 10th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives in the2014 elections, when incumbentPaul Broun was not seeking reelection. Collins finished in second place in the primary election toJody Hice, advancing to a runoff election.[2] Hice defeated Collins in the runoff.[3]
After Hice announced that he would not seek reelection in the2022 elections, Collins announced his candidacy.[1] During his campaign, Collins falsely claimed that Joe Biden had stolen the 2020 election.[4] In a campaign ad, Collins, carrying a gun, told the camera, "You count the legal votes that were cast in the state of Georgia? Donald Trump won this state, period." He then proceeds to shoot a voting machine which explodes.[4] This campaign ad would be cited in discussions of Collins' stance ongun control following the2024 Apalachee High School shooting that occurred in his congressional district.[5]
Collins andVernon Jones advanced to a runoff election,[6] and Collins defeated Jones in the runoff on June 21.[7] Collins defeated Tabitha Johnson-Green, theDemocratic nominee, in the November 8 general election.[8]
After his election, Collins drew attention for hiring Brandon Phillips as his chief of staff. Phillips was arrested in November 2022 on a charge of animal cruelty for kicking a dog, and had previous criminal incidents, including pleading guilty to criminal trespassing and battery for a 2008 incident when he attacked a man and slashed his car's tires, and threw a woman's laptop, in addition to a separate incident of pulling his gun on a woman.[9][10]
Collins's 10th District is located within Georgia'sInterstate 75 Central Corridor.[11]
On December 13, 2023, Collins voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry intoJoe Biden.[12] Collins called for the impeachment and resignation ofUnited States secretary of transportationPete Buttigieg in 2023.[13]
Collins was among 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[14] In December 2023, Collins used a music-themedMariah Carey display on the floor of theHouse of Representatives titled "All I want for Christmas is 12 appropriations bills".[15]
In December 2023, Collins's H.R. 1734 Testing, Rapid Analysis, and Narcotic Quality (TRANQ) Act passed both the House and the Senate and was sent to thePresident to be signed into law.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Collins was "in line to become the first member of this year’s freshman class to see a bill signed into law."[16][17]
Collins was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of 2023's H.Con.Res. 21 which directed PresidentJoe Biden to remove U.S. troops fromSyria within 180 days.[18][19]
Collins voted to provideIsrael with support followingOctober 7 attacks.[20][21] Collins supports the United States selling weapons toTaiwan, but voted against providing military aid toUkraine during theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[22]
On January 24, 2024, Collins introduced a bill he called the "RAZOR Act" which would ban federal authorities from removing razor wireplaced along the border with Mexico by theState of Texas and theTexas National Guard.[23][24]
After a migrant inNew York City was released from jail without bail in February 2024 after allegedly attacking a police officer; Collins suggested the migrant beexecuted. Collins stated onX that the migrant should be given "a ticket onPinochet Air for a free helicopter ride back.” Collins's post referenced theChilean government's killing of dissidents ondeath flights carried outduring the rule of Augusto Pinochet.[25] The migrant Collins had suggested be executed was later cleared of wrongdoing after theManhattan district attorney's office announced he had been misidentified.[26]
After themurder of Laken Riley, who was a Georgia resident, Collins introduced theLaken Riley Act, which requiresU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants charged with theft. The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives during the118th Congress.[27][28] In January 2025, the Laken Riley Act was passed by both chambers of Congress and was signed into law by President Trump.[29]
In January 2025, Collins cosponsored fellowGOP House memberEric Burlison's bill recognizing personhood as starting at conception.[30]
For the119th Congress:[31]
Collins formally announced his candidacy for theU.S. Senate on July 27, 2025, challenging Democratic incumbentJon Ossoff in his bid for re-election.[33]
Collins frequently posts memes on social media, jokingly declaring that "Press Releases are out, memes are in."[34] In March 2024, Collins replied "Never was a second thought" to ananti-Semitic post on X by user "Garbage Human", who was implicitly disparagingWashington Post journalistMaura Judkis for beingJewish. "Garbage Human" later confirmed they were alluding to Judkis' religion.Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of theGeorgia State Legislature, criticized Collins, saying "It’s one thing to mistakenly respond to an anti-Semitic account. It’s another thing to double down on it and gaslight us like it never happened.” Collins denied his post on X was anti-Semitic, stating he had called Judkis a "garbage human" because she had said the United States was "built on stolen land."[35][36][37][38]
In April 2024, amidst the ongoingpro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, Collins tweeted, "Not sure what y'all are doing up north, but we don't give them the time to encamp. Tazers set to stun!" Collins's post onX/Twitter was accompanied by a one-minute-17-second video clip depicting a series of scenes from the police crackdown on protesters atEmory University inAtlanta, Georgia, including a scene in which a Black man is seen lying on the ground in handcuffs while aGeorgia State Patrol officer applies ataser to his leg and fires it. Other scenes in the video showed police struggling with protesters, protesters in handcuffs seated near anAtlanta Police prisoner transport van, and footage where the sound of police firingrubber bullets can be heard.[39][40] In May 2024, Collins approvingly shared footage of counter-protesters at theUniversity of Mississippi heckling pro-Palestinian protesters. Collins praised the counter-protesters, posting “Ole Miss taking care of business." The footage showed a white student engaging in racist mockery of a pro-Palestinian black student by imitating a monkey. The video also showed the counter-protesters chanting "Lock her up!" at the pro-Palestinian student.[41][42][43]
In July 2024, afterDonald Trump was injured inan assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Collins stated on his X account, without evidence, that Trump's2024 United States presidential election opponentJoe Biden "sent the orders" for the shooting and thatButler County's district attorney "should immediately file charges against [Biden] for inciting an assassination."[44][45]
On the fourth anniversary of theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack, Collins posted that "On #ThisDayInHistory in 2021, thousands of peaceful grandmothers gathered in Washington, D.C., to take a self-guided, albeit unauthorized, tour of the U.S. Capitol building." Collins further referred to January 6 participants as "peaceful protestors" who were “hunted down, arrested, held in solitary confinement and treated unjustly."[46]
In January 2025, Collins posted on X that BishopMariann Edgar Budde should be deported after the US-bornEpiscopal prelate delivered a homily at the post-inaugural interfaith prayer service atNational Cathedral calling for newly inaugurated President Trump, who was present at the service, to show mercy to immigrants and LGBTQ children.[47][48]
Collins's father,Mac Collins, also served in the House of Representatives, representingGeorgia's 3rd congressional district from 1993 to 2005.[49]
Collins and his wife, Leigh Ann, have three children.[49] Collins is aMethodist.[50] Collins' business, Collins Trucking, is a sponsor of theButts County, Georgia, Historical Society.[51]
At least four people have been killed and roughly 30 injured in the school shooting
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's 10th congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 306th | Succeeded by |