Trump Welcomes Dr. Oz to Run Medicare: 'He Said I'm a Little Overweight. I Should Lose Some Weight' (April 18, 2025)

President Donald Trump welcomed Dr. Mehmet Oz as the new head of Medicare and Medicaid, and remembered what the TV doctor once told him. “I only know the show. You know why I know the show? Because he said I’m a little overweight. I should lose some weight. I did his show, and that’s what I got out of it,” Trump said in the Oval Office on April 18, 2025, as the room laughed, according to the transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

“As CMS Administrator, Dr. Oz will work tirelessly to strengthen and protect Medicare for our Nation’s seniors and Medicaid for the needy. Just as I promised, there will be no cuts,” Trump said [1].

The video above shows Trump introducing Oz on April 18, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and The National News Desk [1][2][3].

”Should We Talk About Harvard?”

“He graduated from Harvard University,” Trump said, then joked: “Should we talk about Harvard?” [1]

“Dr. Oz authored more than 400 contributions to academic and scientific publications and holds several patents for technologies that revolutionized cardiovascular surgery,” Trump said [1].

“Boy, oh boy. Doctor—I thought he just did a show,” Trump said, to laughter [1].

He said Oz’s television career made “him one of the most trusted voices on health care, and he also got very high ratings. I can tell you that.” [1]

“Not Permitted to Rob America’s Seniors”

“Dr. Oz will work to improve the quality of care for decades to come, and he’ll ensure that criminals, fraudsters, and illegal aliens are not permitted to rob America’s seniors,” Trump said. “They are trying, but they’re not going to get away with it.” [1]

“He will also work alongside Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I’ve heard of him. He’s a pretty famous guy,” Trump joked [1].

Kennedy then swore Oz in. “So help me God,” Oz said [1].

”Courageously Leading the MAHA Movement”

“Mr. President, thank you very much. God bless you for leading our Nation, but also courageously leading the MAHA movement,” Oz said [1].

He laid out the problem. “Medicaid is the number-one budget item for many States, and it is crowding out education and other important social programs,” Oz said [1].

“Health care expenditures are increasing at 2 percent higher than the economy is growing,” he said [1].

“And number four, our life expectancy, despite all this investment, is continuing to slip back, and we’re now more than 4 years shorter in our life expectancy than countries that we used to be equal to,” Oz said [1].

”That Will Not Continue”

Oz turned to the president. “Tens of millions of dollars, Mr. President, are being spent on illegal immigrants receiving Medicaid in California, and they’re pushing the bill to us. Should we stop that?” he asked [1].

“Yes,” Trump said. “I think so. That will not continue,” Oz replied [1].

“We’ll make America healthy again,” Oz said [1].

”Prices Are Down”

Taking questions, Trump touted falling prices. “By the way, prices are down. Groceries are down,” he said [1].

“I’ll tell you, Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture, did a great job, and the egg prices are down 87 percent. But nobody talks about that,” Trump said [1].

“Prices are coming down, not going up. Only the fake news says they’re going up,” he said [1].

”A Judge Wasn’t Elected to Do That”

On deportations, Trump said voters gave him the job. “Our people voted for me to get them out. They want them out,” he said [1].

“And that’s why I was elected. A judge wasn’t elected to do that. I was elected to do that, and we’re doing it in record fashion,” Trump said. “We have the safest border, the most secure border we’ve ever had.” [1]

On Russia and Ukraine, he said: “This is not Trump’s war. This is Biden. This is a war that should have never happened.” [1]

The event ended early when a guest fainted and needed medical care, the transcript notes [1].

By the Numbers

400+: Oz’s academic and scientific publications, per Trump [1].
87 percent: the drop in egg prices, per Trump [1].
4 years: how much shorter U.S. life expectancy is than in comparable countries, per Oz [1].

What Happened Next

Oz put the states on notice. On May 27, 2025, CMS announced “increased federal oversight to stop states from misusing federal Medicaid dollars to cover health care for individuals who are in the country illegally.” [2]

“Medicaid is not, and cannot be, a backdoor pathway to subsidize open borders,” Oz said. “We are putting them on notice—CMS will not allow federal dollars to be diverted to cover those who are not lawfully eligible.” [2]

The clawback began. In November 2025, The National News Desk reported that the administration was “planning to recover over $1 billion in federal Medicaid money.” A preliminary CMS audit found that several states had used the money improperly, mostly in 2024 and 2025, and “California, the biggest culprit, spends over $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid dollars on healthcare for illegal immigrants,” the outlet reported [3].

“We are clawing back that money,” Oz said [3]. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office “has said that California is not improperly using federal funds for illegal immigrant healthcare,” the outlet reported [3].

For Trump receiving the MAHA report from Kennedy, see HYGO News’ page on May 22, 2025. For Kennedy’s plan to phase out petroleum food dyes, see the page on April 22, 2025.