Trump picks Dr Oz to lead Medicare and Medicaid

Published

7 months ago

November 21, 2024

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Donald Trump has chosen TV host Dr Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Celebrity heart surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz rose to prominence working on Oprah Winfrey’s leading daytime television show before getting his own long-running series.

But how has he gone from TV personality to Donald Trump’s choice for overseeing a massive government agency?

The 64-year-old, who started out as Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, became a household name during 13 seasons of The Dr Oz Show, which ran from 2009 to 2022.

He was popular, though his promotion of alternative medicine, faith healing and various paranormal beliefs earned him criticism from a number of medical publications and physicians.

The critics accused him of blurring the lines between medical advice and advertising, failing to make clear to his audience just how closely he worked with the companies he pitched.

Despite the controversy, Dr Oz’s show was a hit and his net worth sat between $100m (£79m) and $315m (£249m) in 2022, according to a federal financial disclosure he filed that year.

Beyond being an Emmy-winning TV show host, he is also an author of New York Times bestsellers, radio talk show host, founder of a national nonprofit to educate teens about healthy habits, and self-styled ambassador for wellness.

He was also a regular Fox News commentator, and a champion of unproven treatments for COVID including hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug whose use against the disease was also backed by Trump.

He became a fierce critic of Joe Biden’s government during the COVID pandemic, challenging its policies on social media.

Moving into politics

Dr Oz played a lesser part in the first Trump administration from 2016, when he was appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

But it was in 2022, after his show concluded, when Dr Oz really transitioned into politics by running for US Senate as a Republican in Pennsylvania.

The campaign leaned heavily into his celebrity status, with his campaign logo almost identical to his TV show logo.

During his campaign rallies, he would talk up his “number one health show in the world,” give the odd piece of medical advice to supporters and spend a lengthy amount of time signing autographs and posing for photos.

Following a court battle that went all the way to the US Supreme Court, Dr Oz narrowly won the primary over Dave McCormick by 951 votes, becoming the Republican candidate, but lost to Democrat John Fetterman in the general election.

His relationship with Trump

The surgeon has had a long, personal relationship with the president-elect spanning back to the early 2000s.

He said in an interview during his Senate campaign that the pair first met in 2004 or 2005, when Dr Oz asked Mr Trump to use his golf course for an event for his children’s charity.

Mr Trump agreed and, after that, they saw each other intermittently at social events before Dr Oz interviewed him about his health during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Trump appeared on his show, where he also said his wife Melania was “a big fan” of the doctor.

The pair then worked together when Mr Trump won the election and put Dr Oz on the President’s Council.

Then in 2022, Mr Trump was integral to Dr Oz’s push for Senate, giving him his eagerly sought-after endorsement.

“Women, in particular, are drawn to Dr Oz for his advice and counsel. I have seen this many times over the years. They know him, believe in him, and trust him,” Mr Trump said when he first backed him.

“You know when you’re in television for 18 years, that’s like a poll,” added the billionaire, who himself starred on 14 seasons of The Apprentice US.

“That means people like you.”

What will his role be?

If confirmed by the Senate to take the role, Dr Oz would oversee Medicare, Medicaid, children’s health insurance and the Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare”.

The programmes cover more than 160 million people, from new-borns to nursing home residents.

CMS also plays a central role in the nation’s $4.5trn health care economy, setting payment rates for hospitals, doctors, labs and other service providers.

“Dr Oz will be a leader in incentivising disease prevention, so we get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on healthcare in our great country,” the president-elect said in a statement.

“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.”

Dr Oz said he was “honoured” to be nominated for the role and looked forward to “serving my country to Make America Healthy Again”.

He, like all of Mr Trump’s picks, must be questioned by members of the Senate before it votes on his appointment. Even with the Republicans in control, some of the picks could be blocked.

US

Suspect in shooting of Minnesota politicians captured after two-day manhunt

Published

5 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Suspect in shooting of Minnesota politicians captured after two-day manhunt

A man has been taken into custody two days after a US politician and her husband were shot dead in Minnesota, law enforcement officials have said.

Authorities had urged the public not to approach Vance Boelter, 57, who they warned could be armed, and who was reportedly posing as a police officer.

A massive manhunt was launched on Saturday after Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman were shot dead at their home in Minneapolis in what Minnesota governor Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination”.

Police said the same gunman that killed the Hortmans had earlier shot and wounded Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home nine miles away.

Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.

He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Hoffman and his wife.

Police said they responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home shortly after 2am on Saturday and found them with multiple gunshot wounds.

They then checked on the Hortmans’ home, in the nearby Brooklyn Park suburb, and saw what appeared to be a police car and a man dressed as an officer leaving the front door.

“The individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley.

Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, and also used a vehicle resembling a squad car.

Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside the vehicle.

‘We are both incredibly lucky to be alive’

Senator Hoffman was shot nine times and is having multiple surgeries, according to a text message shared on Instagram by fellow senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.

The text from Yvette Hoffman added: “I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”

She said her husband “is closer every hour to being out of the woods”.

Records show Boelter – a father of five – is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Mr Hoffman.

However, it’s unclear to what extent they knew each other, if at all.

Mr Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and runs a consulting firm called Hoffman Strategic Advisors.

Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two, was first elected in 2004 and was the top house Democratic leader in the state legislature.

She also served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Mrs Hortman used her position to champion protections around abortion rights, including laws to cement Minnesota’s status as a safe refuge for people from restrictive states, who travel there for an abortion.

Her work also sought to introduce protections for services that provide abortions.

US

Minnesota manhunt continues for gunman who ‘posed as cop’ to kill Melissa Hortman and her husband

Published

8 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Minnesota manhunt continues for gunman who 'posed as cop' to kill Melissa Hortman and her husband

A manhunt is continuing after the gunning down of a Democrat politician and her husband – with police saying they’re acting on the assumption he is still alive and dangerous.

Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman were shot dead at home in a Minneapolis suburb on Saturday in what governor Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination”.

Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times at their home nine miles away, but survived.

A search is under way for Vance Boelter, 57, who authorities believe wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, and also used a vehicle resembling a squad car.

Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were found inside.

Boelter was last caught on camera wearing a cowboy hat – a similar hat was found near another vehicle belonging to him on Sunday.

Authorities said at their latest news conference they assume he is still alive.

Hundreds of police officers are searching for Boelter, who escaped from the Hortmans’ house on foot after an exchange of gunfire.

Senator Hoffman was shot nine times and is having multiple surgeries, according to a text message shared on Instagram by fellow senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.

The text from Mr Hoffman’s wife, Yvette, added: “I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”

She said her husband “is closer every hour to being out of the woods”.

“We believe [Boelter’s] somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” Senator Klobuchar told NBC’s Meet the Press.

“Everyone’s on edge here,” she added, “because we know that this man will kill at a second.”

Police said they responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home shortly after 2am on Saturday and found them with multiple gunshot wounds.

They then checked on the Hortmans’ home, in the nearby Brooklyn Park suburb, and saw what appeared to be a police car and a man dressed as an officer leaving the front door.

“The individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley.

Another vehicle belonging to Boelter was searched on Sunday in Minnesota’s Faxon Township. A cowboy hat similar to the one seen in the police appeal was found nearby.

It’s been revealed that the suspect texted friends around 6am on Saturday to say he had “made some choices” and was “going to be gone for a while”.

According to AP, which has seen the messages, he reportedly said: “May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way… I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”

Records show Boelter – a father of five – is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Mr Hoffman.

However, it’s unclear to what extent they knew each other, if at all.

Mr Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and runs a consulting firm called Hoffman Strategic Advisors.

Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two, was first elected in 2004 and was the top house Democratic leader in the state legislature.

She also served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Her work also sought to introduce protections for services that provide abortions.

US

‘It feels like a bad dream’: Minnesota mourns victims of ‘politically motivated assassination’

Published

11 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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'It feels like a bad dream': Minnesota mourns victims of 'politically motivated assassination'

“Holy, holy, holy” they sang at the Church of St Timothy in Blaine, Minnesota.

But the congregation is struggling to comprehend an act of evil – the brutal murder of one of their own.

Melissa Hortman grew up here. The former state speaker and her husband Mark were shot dead in their home on Saturday morning.

Her friend and party colleague, Erin Koegal, was among those attending mass.

“It still feels like a bad dream. I woke up this morning and was like, okay, so that was real,” she said.

“It’s hit me in waves, the grief, and the anger, and the sadness. She was a leader, a true definition of a leader.

“I’ve never known our party without Melissa as the leader and so I can’t, I don’t even know how we’re going to go forward as a caucus without her.”

State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette had already been shot and wounded.

Police sent to check on his colleague, Melissa Hortman, didn’t get there in time.

They named the suspect as Vance Boelter, a 57-year-old former Christian missionary.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called it a “politically motivated murder”.

Friends of Ms Hortman have told Sky News that her two children feared for their mother’s life after reading divisive rhetoric directed at her online.

Matt Norris, another political colleague of Ms Hortman, was also at church, reflecting on the rise of political violence in America.

“We’ve going to have to do some serious introspection as a state, as a country, and figure out how do we get beyond this,” he said.

“How have we been laying the seeds that have led to horrific acts of violence against public servants like this?

“And it’s going to be incumbent upon us as leaders to set a different tone, to set a different direction for our state and our country so that horrific tragedies like this never occur again.”