Dr. Oz gets Senate committee approval, other health leaders formally confirmed

The Senate Committee on Finance barely approved President Donald Trump’s nominee for Medicare and Medicaid administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, on Tuesday with a 14-13 vote. Oz’s time as a private physician and public health advocate make him well trained to manage the intricacies of the Medicare and Medicaid systems, committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a statement. The approval came just a week and a half after Oz testified before the committee and fielded questions from senators. Oz must now receive final approval for the position with a majority vote on the Senate floor.

When will Oz’s final approval vote take place? Oz’s final vote has not been officially scheduled but is expected to happen soon. The same day Oz received the committee’s approval, the Senate returned a final 56-44 vote confirming Trump nominee Martin Makary as Food and Drug Administration commissioner. The upper chamber also approved Trump’s pick for director of the National Institutes of Health Jay Bhattacharya with a Tuesday vote of 53-47. The confirmation hearings for both Makary and Bhattacharya came about a week before Oz’s.

Dig deeper: Read my reports on the confirmation hearings for Makary and Bhattacharya for more insight on their visions as leaders.