Dr Oz, a TV doctor whose career was launched by Oprah, is the latest in a string of unqualified appointees taking up key positions in the Trump administration, shocking Democrats and Republicans alike.

Mehmet Oz, who previously ran as a Republican in a failed bid for a senate seat in Pennsylvania in the 2022 election, will lead the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which provide health care to America’s most vulnerable citizens.

Oz has been accused of peddling several devices and products that have no discernible health benefits and has been criticised by other medical professionals.

“There may be no physician more qualified and capable than Dr Oz to Make America Healthy Again,” Trump said.

“Dr Oz will be a leader in incentivising disease prevention, so we will get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on health care.”

Dr Oz is one of Trump’s latest appointments. Photo: AAP

A former heart surgeon, Oz became famous for providing medical advice on the Oprah Winfrey Show before hosting his own talk show.

Robert Kennedy Jr will be his boss if the pair are confirmed by the Senate or are appointed by recess.

Oz will be in charge of America’s largest healthcare programs, regulating health insurance and helping set the prices that doctors, hospitals and drug companies receive for medical services.

CMS employs more than 6000 people, but it remains to be seen how many will survive the second Trump administration’s promise to slash government spending.

Medicaid and Medicare combined cost more than $1.4 trillion in 2023 to provide coverage to more than 150 million people.

The Obama administration expanded the programs with the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Dr Mehmet Oz is the latest in a string of controversial nominations by Donald Trump. Photo: AAP

Snake oil

Oz has previously championed pseudo-scientific treatments like energy medicine, diet pills without any evidence of weight loss and his own homeopathic start kit, according to Dr Joe Schwarcz, the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.

“Homeopathy, based on non-existent molecules treating existing disease, is the most absurd of all the “alternative” therapies,” Schwarcz said.

“This is a man who was eviscerated at a Senate committee hearing when questioned about his shameless plugging of baseless dietary supplements, and a man who was the subject of a study in the prestigious British Medical Journal that found 15 per cent of his recommendations on the Dr Oz Show were contradicted by evidence and another 40 per cent had no evidence to back up the claims made.”

Oz promoted unproven drugs during the Covid-19 pandemic that were later confirmed as ineffective against the virus while having financial interests in the companies that were producing the products.

Backlash

Like many of Trump’s appointees, Oz was appointed because of his loyalty to the president-elect, that he campaigned with Trump during his senate run, and is a choice that has been met with derision and confusion.

One Redditor on /r/conservative said that he was a “man who built his entire career on peddling pseudoscience, miracle cures, and outright quackery to millions of vulnerable Americans”.

“Dr Oz isn’t being tapped for this role because of his medical expertise or his commitment to public health,” they said.

“He’s being rewarded for his loyalty to a political agenda that puts the profits of Big Pharma and the healthcare industry ahead of the needs of everyday Americans and I say this as someone who is extremely happy and excited for a Trump Administration.”