WASHINGTON – Television host and surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on a 53-45 vote that split the U.S. Senate along party lines with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition.

During his confirmation hearing last month, Oz vowed to empower patients to take charge of their health care and crack down on fraud, waste and abuse to safeguard federal health programs.

Oz, a familiar face to Americans from years as a daytime television host, also said he would protect vulnerable Americans while taking on chronic disease that leads to increasing federal health spending.

“I commit to doing whatever I can, working tirelessly, to ensure that CMS provides Americans with access to superb care, especially Americans who are our most vulnerable − our young, our disabled and our elderly,” Oz said.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services operates under the Department of Health and Human Services, which is being led by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The agency oversees health coverage for more than 160 million Americans.

Oz was a cardiothoracic surgeon before he began appearing as a health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in the 1990s. He ultimately hosted his own show, “The Dr. Oz Show,” which made him a household name. He has since publicly weighed in on various health sectors, including vitamin companies.

Trump reportedly paid attention to Oz’s television appearances during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he became an informal adviser to the then-president. Oz promoted using the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19, a theory that was debunked but spread by Trump and others for months.

Oz has been criticized for promoting medical treatments not backed by experts, such as using a combination of pregnancy hormones and a 500-calorie diet to spur weight loss.

He lost a U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania in 2022.