President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will nominate former Pennsylvania Senate candidate and television personality Dr. Memhet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS oversees programs that provide health coverage to the majority of Americans, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Healthcare.gov.
Trump said that Dr. Oz will collaborate with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address chronic diseases.
“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 Tuesday.
However, hidden in the statement was a suggestion that cuts to Medicare may be on the table once he takes office.
“He 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,” the statement continued.
In 2018, Trump appointed Oz to the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. He was reappointed to the position in 2020.
Prior to entering the political arena, Dr. Oz hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a syndicated daytime television program. In 2022, Oz became the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat.
Over the years, Oz has been subject of criticism for promoting misleading and inaccurate claims regarding health and science, such as hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, Raspberry ketones for weight loss, and Green coffee extract for weight loss.
The British Medical Journal called Oz’s medical advice into question back in 2014.
Sen. John Fetterman, who defeated Oz in the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race, said he is open to supporting Oz.
“If Dr Oz agrees to protect and preserve Medicaid and Medicare, I’m absolutely gonna vote for the dude,” Fetterman posted to X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
“We do have a history, but I don’t have any bitterness,” Fetterman added. “I don’t hold anything against him.”
