Washington — The Senate Finance Committee is set Tuesday to vote on whether to advance the nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former heart surgeon and television host, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Trump.
Oz appeared before the committee, made up of 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats, earlier this month. If confirmed, the 64-year-old would oversee the nearly $1.5 trillion the federal government spends on Medicare and Medicaid — health insurance programs that make up a large amount of the budget and have often been wielded as political cudgels.
Oz has widespread name recognition as the host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and previously worked as a professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University. After the show stopped taping in 2022, Oz ran for the open Senate seat in Pennsylvania, where he was defeated by now-Sen. John Fetterman.
The former television host has touted meetings with key Republican senators on his path to confirmation, some of whom praised him during his confirmation hearing earlier this month. Meanwhile, Democrats criticized Oz during the hearing, alleging that he had dodged taxes. The criticism added to earlier critiques among Democrats of his views toward abortion and concerns about conflicts of interests. Oz has pledged to resign from positions he holds at companies, including a drugmaker and supplement company, while divesting from healthcare companies as part of his ethics agreement.
The vote comes as the Finance Committee voted narrowly to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s nomination as Health and Human Services secretary in February. Kennedy would serve as Oz’s supervisor if he’s confirmed.
Should Oz’s nomination advance out of committee, his confirmation would move to the Senate floor, where Republicans can afford to lose three votes to confirm him without support from across the aisle, with Vice President J.D. Vance serving as a tie-breaker.