Second Top Aide Fired in Weeks after Harassment of Rape Victim, Ties to White Supremacists
New reporting in the AJC today exposes the growing controversy surrounding GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins’ office’s ties to prominent white supremacists and efforts to free a Holocaust denier from jail.
The staffing “shake-up” follows multiple headlines of scandals involving both Collins and his top aides, putting his operation in repeated turmoil.
AJC: Another staff shake-up for Mike Collins as top aide departs amid scrutiny
By: Greg Bluestein | July 9, 2026
KEY EXCERPTS:
- U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, the Republican nominee challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, has hired his third chief of staff in a year after the departures of two predecessors mired in controversy.
- Ossoff has repeatedly labeled Collins a “notorious bigot, antisemite and extremist,” citing, in part, his ties to former aides Brandon Phillips and Kip Talley.
- Collins cut ties with Phillips earlier this year after he mocked a Republican operative whose wife attempted suicide after accusing former NBC host Matt Lauer of rape.
- The House Ethics Committee is also reviewing allegations that Phillips misused taxpayer funds in Collins’ office and arranged a no-show internship for his girlfriend.
- Talley, who was brought on to succeed Phillips, also drew scrutiny. Slate reported in May that Talley told friends in a group chat he will “try to use the levers of the legislative branch” to try to help secure the release of a Holocaust denier from prison.