Trump nominates Dr. Mehmet Oz as CMS administrator

President-elect Donald Trump continues his string of unique and at times, controversial Cabinet and official nominations with the selection of Dr. Mehmet Oz as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator.

The CMS administrator position requires Senate confirmation, so Oz will have to convince at least 50 Republicans to back his choice.

Oz lost a Senate race to Democrat Sen. John Fetterman in 2022, but Trump endorsed him in the race, and he has remained an ally.

“There may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again,” Trump said 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,” Trump said. “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, and a quarter of our entire National Budget.”

Trump also picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services even though Kennedy has long been described by critics as anti-vaccine. Both Kennedy and Oz align with Trump's views on COVID-19 though, which may be why he chose them.