Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said he would vote to confirm his former political opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator if Oz plans to protect the government programs.
“If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude,” Fetterman tweeted.
Fetterman defeated Oz, a Republican, in Pennsylvania’s 2022 U.S. Senate race.
“Our politics are obviously different, and we do have a history, but I don’t have any bitterness. I don’t hold anything against him,” Fetterman said, according to CNN’s Manu Raju.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Oz as his pick to head the CMS, which falls under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“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. “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.”
Kennedy, who Trump nominated to helm HHS, hailed the president-elect’s decision to tap Oz to serve as CMS administrator.
“Very excited that my friend @DrOz has agreed to run CMS. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for this outstanding nomination. Welcome Dr. Oz to The Avengers. Let’s Make America Healthy Again!” Kennedy tweeted.
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Oz said in a post on X that he is “honored” by Trump’s nomination.
“I look forward to serving my country to Make America Healthy Again under the leadership of HHS Secretary @RobertKennedyJr,” he noted.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., congratulated Oz, calling him an “excellent fit” for the job.
“His medical background as a cardiothoracic surgeon and public health advocate makes him an excellent fit for this position,” Paul said in a tweet.