Democratic senator says he would back old rival Dr. Oz for key health position if he protects Medicare

 Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said he would vote to confirm his one-time political rival Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead a key health care agency as long as Oz “agrees to protect and preserve Medicaid and Medicare.”

On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Oz was his pick to be the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The tone was a stark departure from how Fetterman talked about Oz when he successfully ran against him in the highly competitive 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race. The two then-candidates traded barbs on the trail and, at one point during the campaign, Fetterman compared Oz to a quack cartoon doctor.

“I’m going to be very, very clear if Dr. Oz agrees to protect and preserve Medicaid and Medicare, I’m absolutely going to vote for the dude. That’s the most important thing for me. Our politics are obviously different, and we do have a history, but I don’t have any bitterness. I don’t hold anything against him. As long as he’s willing to protect and preserve Medicaid and Medicare, I’m voting for the dude.” Fetterman told CNN on Tuesday.

He praised Oz’s credentials in the medical field, calling him “an accomplished surgeon (and) medical expert.” When asked if he believes Oz is qualified for the job, Fetterman did not say outright that he is, but said that “compared to (Matt) Gaetz to AG or some of these other things — but I’m willing to work with anyone that has at least some kind of shared values and goals. That’s why we’re here.”

Fetterman suggested that any push for privatization of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services would be a red line for him, saying that is “absurd and I would never be supportive of that.”