After a Republican senator questioned whether television personality Mehmet Oz is too supportive of trans people’s existence to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – a position he was appointed to by the president – the White House is assuring people that Oz will help “put an end to left-wing ideological nonsense afflicting our government.”

The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance Oz’s nomination in a party-line vote yesterday, but not before Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent him a letter demanding he explain a pro-trans episode of The Dr. Oz Show that aired ten years ago.

Related

Dr. Oz doesn’t want voters to see his episode on LGBTQ conversion therapy
The episode was denounced because it “provided a lengthy platform for junk science.” Dr. Oz just scrubbed it from his site.

Trans reality TV personality and author Jazz Jennings appeared on that show and Oz complimented her mother for being supportive.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

“I love the support you’ve given your daughter,” Oz said. “It’s wonderful. And you can see the beautiful young woman she’s becoming because of it.”

That was years before opposing trans equality would become a defining position of the Republican Party – the wave of state laws attacking trans rights started in 2021 – and years before Oz, who ran for Senate in 2022, would get involved in Republican politics.

“Have your views on this issue changed since you hosted your television show?” Hawley’s letter demands of Oz. “Do you support President Trump’s position that gender transition procedures for minors should be banned?”

Hawley asked several other questions about Oz’s positions on trans issues, including trans participation in school sports, which aren’t governed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; whether puberty blockers should be available to trans minors; and Republican efforts to defund hospitals that treat transgender youth.

Several other questions addressed Oz’s pro-choice past statements.

The White House, though, is assuring conservatives that Oz does not support trans people.

“Every member of the Trump administration is working from the same playbook, President Trump’s playbook, to restore commonsense policies and put an end to left-wing ideological nonsense afflicting our government,” a spokesperson told the far-right Daily Signal in a statement. “We look forward to the Senate’s swift confirmation of Dr. Oz so he can join the rest of our all-star team at HHS working to Make America Healthy Again by restoring common sense, transparency, and confidence in our healthcare apparatus.”

After announcing his Senate campaign, Oz turned to transphobia. Less than a month after his campaign announcement in 2021, he defended anti-trans author J.K. Rowling, calling her “very brave” and denouncing “cancel culture.”

“The transgender issue is kind of diluted a little bit. The suicide rate amongst transgender adults has grown [inaudible],” he said on a radio show. “This is critical to understand. We have to have compassion on this problem. It is a devastating one.”

Oz’s response only went further downhill from there, as he began pushing anti-trans rhetoric, claiming it’s “unfair” for trans people to participate in sports. “Then you layer on top of that changes to our society that hurt other people in an effort to protect one group of people, and that’s not fair. That’s not fair,” he said.

Then, he suggested that “feminists” are being harmed by trans inclusion. “Feminists have very eloquently fought for the ability to have women’s sports be on equal [inaudible] as men’s sports, and this takes away that ability,” he said.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.