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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality, to serve as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The announcement was made on Tuesday (November 19), with Trump expressing confidence in Oz's ability to ensure quality healthcare for all Americans.
“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!” Trump said in a statement.
Dr. Oz, known for his syndicated daytime TV talk show The Dr. Oz Show, has been a prominent figure in the health and wellness industry for years. However, his views on COVID-19 and promotion of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the virus, despite the lack of firm scientific evidence, have sparked controversy.
Prior to this nomination, Oz made an unsuccessful bid for the Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, with Trump's backing. He also served on the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, appointed by Trump in 2018 and reappointed in 2020.
Despite his unconventional path to this nomination, Oz has been an advocate for health insurance for all Americans, stating in 2009 that it should be mandatory and that the government should provide coverage for those who cannot afford it.
The nomination of Dr. Oz to lead CMS, the agency responsible for providing government-based health insurance to more than 160 million people, requires Senate confirmation. If confirmed, he will work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump wants to head the Department of Health and Human Services, to take on what Trump refers to as the "illness industrial complex."