WASHINGTON – The president-elect Donald Trump On Tuesday, he appointed Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former TV host and heart surgeon, to lead the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor and disabled Americans. Trump also tapped Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department as he rounded out his cabinet.

“Dr. Oz will be a leader in boosting disease prevention so we get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on health care in our Great Country,” Trump said in a statement. “It will also reduce waste and fraud in our nation’s most expensive government agency, which accounts for one-third of our nation’s health care spending and one-quarter of the entire national budget.”

Oz, who made an unsuccessful bid in 2022 to represent Pennsylvania in the US Senate, has been an outspoken supporter of Trump and in recent days has voiced his support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination. for the nation’s largest health agency, the Department of Health. and Human Services.

As administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Oz reportedly reported to Kennedy. If confirmed by the Senate, Oz would be responsible for the programs — Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act — that more than half the country relies on for health insurance. Medicaid provides nearly free health care coverage to millions of the poorest children and adults in the US, while Medicare gives older Americans and people with disabilities access to health insurance. The Affordable Care Act is the Obama-era program that provides health insurance plans to millions of Americans who don’t qualify for government-assisted health insurance but don’t get insurance through their employer.

“Americans need better research on healthy lifestyle choices from unbiased scientists and @robertfkennedyjr can help as HHS Secretary,” Oz shared in an Instagram post last week, along with a photo of himself and Kennedy together.

Oz was accused of sales of dubious medical treatments and products on his defunct TV show. And during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he pressed government officials to make hydroxychloroquine widely available, despite unresolved questions about its safety and effectiveness.

Lutnick, meanwhile, will have a key role in carrying out Trump’s plan to raise and enforce tariffs as commerce secretary, Trump said. Lutnick is a cryptocurrency enthusiast and head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

Trump made the announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social. In the post, Trump said Lutnick “will lead our agenda on tariffs and trade, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.”

Lutnick is a co-chairman of the Trump’s transition teamalong with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously ran Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with fielding candidates for key roles in the next administration.

The appointment would put Lutnick in charge of a Cabinet agency involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position where connections with CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.

An advocate of broad tariffs, Lutnick told CNBC in September that “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use — we have to protect the American worker.” proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20 percent on everything else the United States imports.

Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, seeing them as a largely ineffective way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.

Lutnick was considered for Treasury secretary, a role that has been at the center of high-profile jockeying in the Trump world. At the same time, the Treasury position is being watched closely in financial circles, where a disruptive nominee could have immediate negative consequences for the stock market, which Trump is watching closely.

The news also comes after billionaire Elon Musk and others in Trump’s orbit called on Trump to drop previous Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent in favor of Lutnick. Musk said in his post that “Bessent is a normal choice, while @howardlutnick will implement the change.”

Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and rose through the ranks to be named president and CEO in 1991.

Lutnick also chairs financial technology company BGC Group, Inc. and commercial real estate services firm Newmark Group, Inc.

Lutnick has donated to both Democrats and Republicans in the past and once appeared on Trump’s NBC reality show “The Apprentice.” He became part of the president-elect’s inner circle and shared the stage with Trump at events in the final days of his campaign, including a rally at Madison Square Garden.

He came under fire in the final days of the campaign for a CNN interview in which he repeated debunked criticisms of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to vaccines.

— Associated Press writer Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed.