WASHINGTON – He spoke fast, hammering through the Trump administration's efforts to lower prescription drug prices, combat health care fraud, and curb the spread of Ebola overseas.
But when reporters tried to ask Dr. Mehmet Oz about the most-pressing issues of the day — the point of the White House briefing where he was speaking for the administration — the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had little to offer, and said so again and again.
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Oz’s appearance showcased how the White House can struggle to respond to major news that breaks on any given day — a telling weakness as public sentiment has increasingly turned against the president. And it comes as President Donald Trump himself has spent more time than usual out of reach of reporters' questions.
Pressed on why Trump tapped Bill Pulte to be the acting director of national intelligence, despite the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency having no clear national security credentials, Oz said he trusted the president's judgment while also offering, “I think Bill's a great guy. I know him socially.”
Asked on the same topic again, he said, “Ma'am, you’re asking me a question that’s out of my lane."
When a reporter said that the White House had given so little information on Pulte's nomination that there was no choice but to seek answers from Oz during the briefing — despite it not being his area of expertise — Oz acknowledged, "I appreciate you want an answer. I’m not not going to be the one giving it to you.”
Still another attempt finally prompted him to exclaim, “I don’t know anything more about Bill Pulte than you do. I did not think that the questions would even come up here. I hadn’t even heard the news when I walked out.”
The administration has invited some of its most camera-ready voices to brief reporters while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is on maternity leave. It started with Vice President JD Vance and then featured another possible 2028 White House hopeful, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had his turn.
“I did watch them all, by the way," Oz said, explaining it helped him prepare for the experience. “I’m a doctor. I try and do my homework. I prepped for the case.”
Vance, Rubio and Bessent each fielded questions about the war in Iran and other topics. But Oz, an unsuccessful former Senate candidate in Pennsylvania and onetime prominent TV physician, stuck mostly to health care.
The White House said Oz was there to announce that 160 new medications are being added to the government’s discounted-drug website TrumpRx, bringing the total number of drugs on the site to more than 750.
“Dr. Oz authoritatively and articulately discussed the latest updates on several key Trump administration priorities, from lowering prescription drug prices to rooting out pervasive fraud in federal programs,” White House spokesman Kush Desai, said in a statement that also chided reporters for asking about “topics that President Trump himself has already weighed in on.”
Oz was also asked several times about Trump having undergone four publicly disclosed health screenings since returning to the White House and gave various answers, including, “I think he likes the results,” while piling on the praise about his boss, who turns 80 this month.
“That amount of energy, and that amount of mental acuity does not exist in a vacuum," Oz said. “You have to have a vessel to carry it.”