Trump appoints Dr. Oz to key HHS position in new administration

President-elect Trump announced on Tuesday that he will nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator in January.

“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 posted on Truth Social. “He is an eminent Physician, Heart Surgeon, Inventor, and World-Class Communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades.”

Trump wrote that he plans for Dr. Oz to “work closely” with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who the president-elect appointed to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The CMS operates within the HHS, with the CMS controlling Medicare and Medicaid, among other programs. The agency’s website notes that it “works in partnership with the entire health care community to improve quality, equity and outcomes in the health care system.”

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Former US President Donald Trump, stands behind Mehmet Oz, US Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania, during a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, US, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump wrote that Oz and Kennedy will “take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.”

“Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our Country’s budget,” the statement read. “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.

The Republican also wrote that 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[ing], and a quarter of our entire National Budget.”

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Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate and former TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks before an appearance by former president Donald Trump to endorse local candidates at the Mohegan Sun Arena on September 03, 2022 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Oz, who regularly appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” before hosting “The Dr. Oz Show” from 2009 to 2022, holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania. Oz ran for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, and lost to now-Senator John Fetterman.

Trump wrote that Oz “taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices, and gave a strong voice to the key pillars of the MAHA [Make America Healthy Again] Movement.”

“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 statement concluded.

Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate and former TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz is greeted by former president Donald Trump at a rally to support local candidates at the Mohegan Sun Arena on September 03, 2022 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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The current CMS Administrator is Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. The agency’s website notes that the Administrator “directs the planning, coordination, and implementation of the programs under Titles XI, XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act and related statutes,” as well as “directs the development of effective relationships between these programs and private and federally supported health-related programs.”