Dr. Oz Tapped by Donald Trump for National Health Role Alongside RFK Jr.: ‘No Physician More Qualified’
The celebrity doctor has been nominated to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in order to help Trump "cut waste and fraud"
Mehmet Oz, better known as Dr. Oz, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to oversee federal health insurance programs as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Trump, 78, announced his wish to bring Oz, 64, into the administration on Tuesday, Nov. 19, noting that the celebrity doctor will collaborate with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — the nominee for secretary of health and human services — "to take on the illness industrial complex."
Related: The Rise and Fall of Dr. Oz
Claiming that the health care system costs the United States government too much money, Trump said he will task Oz with looking to "cut waste and fraud" until a quarter of the nation's budget has been slashed.
"America is facing a Healthcare Crisis, and there may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again," Trump said in a statement, before touting Oz's Ivy League education and nine Daytime Emmy Awards as host of The Dr. Oz Show.
Related: Donald Trump's Cabinet Picks: Who He's Already Chosen and Who He Might Choose Next
"I have known Dr. Oz for many years, and I am confident he will fight to ensure everyone in America receives the best possible Healthcare, so our Country can be Great and Healthy Again!" the president-elect concluded.
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Oz forfeited his longtime talk show to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022. He secured the Republican nomination with the help of Trump's endorsement, ultimately losing to Democrat John Fetterman in the general election.
