Washington — The Senate Finance Committee voted on Tuesday 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.
The panel voted 14 to 13 along party lines to advance Oz’s nomination, which now heads to the full Senate.
Oz appeared before the committee 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.
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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. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, voiced his support for Oz ahead of the vote Tuesday, saying he has “years of experience as an acclaimed physician and public health advocate.” Crapo added that the background makes Oz “uniquely qualified” for the role, while urging the panel to advance the nomination.
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.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the committee, argued ahead of the vote Tuesday that given the chance to “assure the American people that he would not be a a rubber stamp for Republican plans to gut Medicaid and hike Affordable Care Act premiums” during Oz’s confirmation hearing, “at every turn he failed the test.” Wyden encouraged his colleagues to oppose the nomination, claiming that Oz has shown no ability or interest in “pushing back on the dangerous Trump healthcare agenda.”
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.
With the advancement out of committee, Oz’s 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.
Alexander Tin
contributed to this report.
