Donald Trump Picks Dr. Oz to Lead Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services
President-elect Donald Trump, continuing his pattern of appointing TV figures to top positions in his next administration, said that he has nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.
“He is an eminent physician, heart surgeon, inventor, and world-class communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades,” Trump said in a statement.
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He said that Oz would work closely with Robert Kennedy Jr., whom Trump nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trump said Oz “will also cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend, and a quarter of our entire National Budget.”
Trump’s comment quickly raised concerns that cuts to Medicare and Medicaid may be considered in his administration.
Fetterman posted on X, “If Dr. oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude.”
Oz hosted a daily syndicated talk show until he ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022. He lost to Democrat John Fetterman.
On Monday, Trump nominated Fox Business host Sean Duffy to serve as secretary of transportation. Last week, Trump nominated Fox & Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth to serve as secretary of defense.
Earlier today, Trump nominated Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of his transition team, to serve as secretary of commerce.
Oz became famous as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and he launched his own daily talk show, The Dr. Oz Show, in 2009, produced by Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television.
In 2018, Oz and the show’s producer settled a class action lawsuit for $5.25 million over claims that he falsely promoted the benefits of weight loss supplements.
Winfrey endorsed Fetterman in his Senate bid and Kamala Harris this year.
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