President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is appointing Dr. Mehmet Oz as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator.
Oz ran for U.S. Senator in Pennsylvania in 2022, losing to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)
Oz is famous as a former television doctor who cut his TV chops with the television personality Oprah Winfrey and hosted his program, “The Dr. Oz Show.”
The cardiothoracic surgeon who invented a heart valve and practiced at Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center in New York.
Oz, a Republican, sought to replace former GOP Sen. Pat Toomey. Although his wife grew up in Bryn Athyn and the family has a home there, although Oz lived part-time in New Jersey to be closer to work. The Fetterman campaign successfully targeted him as a carpetbagger. According to an X post, Fetterman said, ““Well, I’ve been very, very clear if Dr Oz agrees to protect and preserve Medicaid and Medicare, I’m absolutely going to vote for the dude.”
Jim Worthington, an RNC delegate and owner of the Newtown Athletic Club (NAC), said he knows Oz well. Worthington became friends with Oz after Trump appointed both men to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition in 2018.
When Oz ran for the Senate, Worthington said he backed him wholeheartedly. Worthington said Oz is “brilliant.” When Oz lost to Fetterman, “it was one of my saddest days.”
“America lost out. Dr. Oz would have been a great senator,” he said.
At a campaign event at the NAC in September 2022, when radio talk show host and DVJournal columnist Dom Giordano was speaking, a woman in the audience fainted. Oz jumped into action, leaped over a railing and revived her.
Oz is not only a “world-renowned heart surgeon” but a businessman and someone who “can do anything,” said Worthington. Appointing him to the CMS “will be good for the country.” Oz knows about senior citizens, medicine and business, said Worthington.
“He’s a great guy,” said Worthington. “His wife, Lisa, is great, too. She’s brilliant in her own right. They’re good people.”
Longtime Republican consultant Christopher Nicholas said, “It’s an important job – glad another Pennsylvanian has been tapped to help steer it.”
Oz has been an outspoken Trump supporter, and Trump endorsed him when he ran for the Senate.
In a statement, Trump said, “America is facing a healthcare crisis, and there may be no physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again [MAHA]. He is an eminent physician, heart surgeon, inventor, and world-class communicator who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades. Dr. Oz will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to 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. 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 spend[ing] and a quarter of our entire national budget.
“Oz graduated from Harvard College and earned a joint MD and MBA degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School, my powerful alma mater. He rose to become a professor of surgery at Columbia University while receiving numerous patents on his medical inventions, authoring more than 400 original publications, and publishing numerous New York Times Best Selling books,” the statement said.
“He won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ where he taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices and gave a strong voice to the key pillars of the MAHA Movement. Dr. Oz and his wife, Lisa, expanded this effort by founding HealthCorps, a non-profit that has improved the lives of millions of underserved teens nationwide over the past two decades.”
Oz, whose parents immigrated to America from Turkey, and his wife have four children. He grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, where his father was a thoracic surgeon.
Oz is “a great person. He’s a great pick,” added Worthington.
Trump said, “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!”
