Trump Nominates Dr. Mehmet Oz to Run Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Another TV personality is being nominated for a Senate-confirmed role in President-elect Trump’s administration.

Trump has nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare functions.

Oz, of course, hosted a daytime talk show for 13 years before exiting to run for an open Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022. He lost that seat to John Fetterman.

Oz, a cardiovascular surgeon, also worked at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York in addition to his numerous TV roles. A protege of Oprah Winfrey (Oz first gained fame from his appearances on her daytime talk show), he also guest-hosted Jeopardy! and appeared in a number of TV shows and films as himself. His Senate run provided a glimpse into the finances of daytime TV.

“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. “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.”

“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,” Trump added.

Trump has nominated a number of TV personalities to roles in his cabinet. Fox News host Pete Hegseth was nominated to be Secretary of Defense, while Fox Business host (and former cast member on MTV’s The Real World) Sean Duffy was tapped to lead the Department of Transportation.