The Senate voted 53-45 on Thursday afternoon to confirm Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve in the Trump administration, specifically to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Such a vote came strictly along party lines, which means Oz's opponent for the 2022 U.S. Senate election for Pennsylvania, now Sen. John Fetterman, voted against his confirmation.
Oz was reportedly in the Senate gallery at the time he was confirmed.
✅ CONFIRMED: Dr. Mehmet Oz @DrOz as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. pic.twitter.com/AD2nysvP3Y
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 3, 2025
Dr Oz is in the gallery above the Senate floor as the Senate votes to confirm him as CMS Administrator.
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) April 3, 2025
When Oz had been nominated by President Donald Trump last November, shortly after the election, Fetterman indicated that there was a possibility he would support his old foe. That didn't turn out to be the case, however.
New — Just spoke to Sen. John Fetterman about his old rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz, whom he defeated in a fierce 2022 Senate race.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 19, 2024
On Oz’s nomination to head the health agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, Fetterman very much open to voting for his confirmation.
“I’m going to be…
53-45, Mehmet Oz confirmed by Senate along party lines to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Sen. Fetterman votes against his old foe. He had previously indicated he was open to supporting Oz.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 3, 2025
Oz, however, did have the support from another political opponent, now Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA). Oz and McCormick both ran in the crowded Republican primary in 2022 to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Although it was a close primary race, Oz managed to win, especially after he had been endorsed by Trump for the race, though he went on to lose to Fetterman. McCormick won last November when he beat a vulnerable Democratic incumbent, now former Sen. Bob Casey Jr.
Another primary opponent for that 2022 race, Jeff Bartos, expressed his congratulations to Oz over X.
In this role in leading the CMS, Oz will work closely with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was also nominated last November and was confirmed in February.
Congratulations to my friend @DrOz, his wife Lisa and their beautiful family on this momentous occasion.
— Jeff Bartos (@jeff_bartos) April 3, 2025
Mehmet will be an outstanding Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.