Senator Murray Statement on Trump Announcement of Dr. Oz to Lead CMS

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement in response to President-elect Donald J. Trump announcing his intention to select Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

"Even putting aside the raft of alarming pseudoscience Dr. Oz has previously endorsed, it is deeply disappointing to see someone with zero qualifications being announced to head up such a critical agency. CMS is charged with administrating the health care so many Americans depend on - including Medicare and Medicaid - and doing everything from leading the drug price negotiations Democrats enacted to preventing patients from being hit with surprise medical bills using the authority I passed into law. I am also profoundly concerned by the extreme anti-abortion views Dr. Oz holds - CMS has oversight over a wide range of reproductive health care issues and the last thing women in America need is more extremist Republicans getting involved in their personal health care decisions.

"This is a pattern of Donald Trump pushing forward people he likes watching on TV for hugely consequential jobs in government, and it's going to lead to more chaos and bad outcomes for regular people - as we law last time when Trump's health care sabotage sent the uninsured rate skyrocketing. We need serious leaders when it comes to protecting Americans' health care and bringing down costs - not TV hosts whose main qualification is their loyalty to Donald Trump."

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