The Senate Finance Committee holds a confirmation hearing on Friday for Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity who is nominated to run major health programs for older Americans and the poor.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity doctor, is expected to face a tense confirmation hearing on Friday, with Democratic senators planning to question how he would oversee Medicare and Medicaid now that Republicans and the Trump administration are weighing significant changes affecting millions of Americans.
Among the possible plans being considered by Republican lawmakers and President Trump are severe reductions to health insurance coverage for low-income people and a greater shift toward private plans for older Americans.
Dr. Oz, 64, a cardiothoracic surgeon who rose to fame through his successful daytime show, appears poised to secure confirmation by the full Senate.
His confirmation hearing is among the last of the Trump nominees whose agencies fall under the jurisdiction of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary. It immediately follows Mr. Trump’s decision on Thursday to withdraw the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Weldon’s long-held views against certain vaccines weakened his chances for confirmation.
Given that older Americans are advised to receive certain vaccines because they are among the most vulnerable for illnesses like Covid, the flu and pneumonia, it’s possible that Dr. Oz’s positions on immunization will also be of interest to the Senate panel reviewing his qualifications.
In addition, some of the Senate Finance Committee members are likely to grill Dr. Oz about his myriad financial ties, many of which would pose troubling conflicts of interest if he were to lead the agency.