US President Donald Trump Friday swore in Mehmet Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), granting the former TV host vast influence over the nation’s largest public health insurance program. Trump lauded Oz as an “internationally acclaimed heart and lung surgeon at the swearing-in ceremony held in the Oval Office. President Donald Trump lightened the atmosphere by delivering three jokes.
He, however, took a jibe at Mehmet Oz for his Harvard degree. While introducing Mehmet Oz during the swearing-in ceremony, Trump quipped, "She graduated from Harvard. Ahhhh! Harvard, how convenient...she will talk about Harvard."
The Trump administration has been engaged in an escalating back-and-forth with the university over its refusal to heed the White House’s demands in exchange for federal funding.
ALSO READ: 'Fixed it for you': White House 'corrects' NYT headline over wrongly deported man, netizens call it 'disgusting'
“We’re delighted to swear in Dr. Mehmet Oz as the next administrator of the Centers for Medicine and Medicaid Services, which is a big deal,” said Trump, misnaming the title of the agency.
“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. We’re not going to have any cuts. We’re going to have only help,” he added.
After his remarks, Trump began to take questions from reporters but abruptly stopped after a member of Oz’s party, a young girl, apparently collapsed and was rushed out of the Oval Office.
ALSO READ: Are we heading for a US recession? All your key questions answered
“I think Harvard’s a disgrace,” President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday.
By taking action against international students and the school’s tax status, the administration struck at two pillars of Harvard, where international students make up 27% of the campus, and the majority of the student body is in graduate school, often conducting globally prominent research. The school has risen to distinction by attracting the world’s top talent and large tax-deductible gifts from the country’s richest donors.
The federal government has already frozen more than $2 billion in grants and contracts to the Ivy League institution.
(With AP inputs)
He, however, took a jibe at Mehmet Oz for his Harvard degree. While introducing Mehmet Oz during the swearing-in ceremony, Trump quipped, "She graduated from Harvard. Ahhhh! Harvard, how convenient...she will talk about Harvard."
The Trump administration has been engaged in an escalating back-and-forth with the university over its refusal to heed the White House’s demands in exchange for federal funding.
ALSO READ: 'Fixed it for you': White House 'corrects' NYT headline over wrongly deported man, netizens call it 'disgusting'
“We’re delighted to swear in Dr. Mehmet Oz as the next administrator of the Centers for Medicine and Medicaid Services, which is a big deal,” said Trump, misnaming the title of the agency.
“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. We’re not going to have any cuts. We’re going to have only help,” he added.
After his remarks, Trump began to take questions from reporters but abruptly stopped after a member of Oz’s party, a young girl, apparently collapsed and was rushed out of the Oval Office.
Trump vs Harvard escalates
Trump's administration has escalated its ongoing battle with Harvard, threatening to block the university from enrolling international students as the president called for withdrawing Harvard’s tax-exempt status. The moves raise the stakes of the showdown between the White House and the nation’s oldest, wealthiest and arguably most prestigious university.ALSO READ: Are we heading for a US recession? All your key questions answered
“I think Harvard’s a disgrace,” President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday.
By taking action against international students and the school’s tax status, the administration struck at two pillars of Harvard, where international students make up 27% of the campus, and the majority of the student body is in graduate school, often conducting globally prominent research. The school has risen to distinction by attracting the world’s top talent and large tax-deductible gifts from the country’s richest donors.
The federal government has already frozen more than $2 billion in grants and contracts to the Ivy League institution.
(With AP inputs)
