President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former Pennsylvania Senate nominee and television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz as the next lead for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS oversees healthcare coverage for over 160 million Americans through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the Health Insurance Marketplace—a massive role with significant implications.
“Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our Country’s budget,” said Trump in a statement. Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing Disease Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country. He will also cut waste and fraud within our country’s most expensive government agency, which is a third of our nation’s healthcare spending and a quarter of our entire national budget.”
Trump has nominated DR OZ to be administrator of CMS. pic.twitter.com/qSgXGcHviH
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 19, 2024
In 2022, Dr. Oz narrowly clinched the Republican primary in Pennsylvania after Trump endorsed him late in the game. Months later, Democrat John Fetterman, who was recovering from a stroke at the time, defeated Oz in the general election by more than 263,000 votes and won the Pennsylvania Senate seat —a consequential loss which capped off a highly publicized campaign.
Oz is most likely best known for The Dr. Oz Show, where his blend of entertainment and medical advice made him a household name. However, many medical experts have dismissed his expertise as “quack” medicine despite him being a legitimate cardiothoracic surgeon. Trump recently picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services to tackle what he calls the “illness industrial complex.” Trump says it is his intention that Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Oz work together closely.
BREAKING: Trump is nominating Dr. Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) November 19, 2024
Biden passed Medicare drug negotiation, allowing for up to 50 drug prices to be negotiated over the next few years.
Dr. Oz could be Trump's lead negotiator with Big Pharma. Learn more about him: pic.twitter.com/eJKzQRMI6p
Sadly, Oz is not Trump’s only television star pick.
Pete Hegseth from Fox & Friends has been named Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, while Sean Duffy, a contributor on Fox News, is slated to lead the Department of Transportation. Trump also nominated Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, as the head of the “Department of Government Efficiency.”
Trump has yet to nominate any Black candidates for a position in his progressive, new administration.
Trump’s cabinet nominees are another reminder that when MAGAs lecture Black and brown people about how we lack meritocracy, every accusation is a confession.
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) November 16, 2024
Join the movement https://t.co/KHxgxPC0YV pic.twitter.com/wuvWav6AMw
It’s a lineup that underscores Trump’s unconventional approach to governance—turning to media figures he trusts to lead key agencies. The world will be eyeing his administration picks very closely to see whether his unconventional—if not somewhat rogue—strategy will deliver results.
