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President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named former TV talk show host and heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz to head the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of elderly, poor and disabled people. He nominated Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick to head the position. Department of Commerce.
“Dr. Oz will be a leader in encouraging disease prevention so that every dollar we spend on health care in this great country will yield the best results in the world,” President Trump said in a statement. “He will also reduce waste and fraud within our nation’s most expensive government agency, which accounts for a third of our health care costs and a quarter of our entire national budget.”
Mr. Oz, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania in 2022, has been an outspoken supporter of Mr. Trump and, in recent days, has been a vocal supporter of Mr. He has expressed support for the nomination to the ministry. and human services.
As administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Oz will report directly to Kennedy. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Oz would be in charge of programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, on which more than half the country relies on health insurance. Medicaid provides nearly free health insurance to millions of America’s poorest children and adults, and Medicare provides access to health insurance for older Americans and the disabled. The Affordable Care Act is an Obama administration-era program that provides health insurance plans to millions of Americans who don’t qualify for government-subsidized health insurance but don’t have insurance through their employers.
“Americans need better research on healthy lifestyle choices from unbiased scientists. @robertfkennedyjr will be joining us as HHS Secretary,” Oz said in an Instagram post last week. , posted a photo of herself and Kennedy together.
Oz has been accused of promoting questionable treatments and products on his now-defunct TV show. And at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, hydroxychloroquine was widely used, despite unanswered questions about its safety and effectiveness. pressure on government authorities to make it available.
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Meanwhile, President Trump said Tuesday that as Commerce Secretary, Lutnick would play a key role in carrying out Trump’s plan to raise and enforce tariffs. Mr. Lutnick is a cryptocurrency enthusiast and head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.
President Trump made the announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday. Trump said in the post that Lutnick “will have additional direct responsibility for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and will lead the tariffs and trade agenda.”
Lutnick is co-chairing Trump’s transition team with former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who led the Trump administration’s Small Business Administration. Both men are tasked with fielding candidates for key roles in the next administration.
The appointment puts Mr. Lutnick in charge of a vast Cabinet agency responsible for funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. This position also requires connections with the CEO and the broader business community.
Lutnick, who supports widespread tariffs, told CNBC in September that “tariffs are a great tool for the president, and we need to protect American workers.” — and impose tariffs of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.
Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, believing them to be a largely inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.
Mr. Lutnick had been considered as a candidate for Treasury secretary, a position that has been a high-profile jockey in Trump presidential circles. At the same time, Treasury’s position is being closely watched in the financial world, and a disruptive candidate could have an immediate negative impact on the stock market, something Trump is watching closely.
The news comes as billionaire Elon Musk and others close to Trump have called on Trump to fire Scott Bessent, the front-runner for Treasury secretary, in favor of Lutnick. It was also announced later. “Bessent is the usual choice, but @howardlutnick will really make a difference,” Musk said in the post.
Mr. Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and rose through the ranks until he was named president and CEO in 1991.
Mr. Lutnick also serves as Chairman of BGC Group, Inc., a financial technology company, and Newmark Group, Inc., a commercial real estate services company.
Mr. Lutnick has donated to both Democrats and Republicans in the past, and has appeared on President Trump’s NBC reality show, “The Apprentice.” He became part of the president-elect’s inner circle and shared the stage with Trump at late-campaign events, including a rally at Madison Square Garden.
Towards the end of the campaign, he came under fire for repeating his debunked criticisms of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccines in an interview with CNN.
The billionaire CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald was born on Long Island, New York.
Associated Press writer Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed.
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