The White House News

President Biden awarded on Wednesday the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Cecile Richards, an abortion rights activist and former president of Planned Parenthood. 

During a private ceremony, Biden said Richards has “led some of our Nation’s most important civil rights causes — to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women’s reproductive rights and equality, and mobilize Americans to exercise their power to vote.” 

Richards left Planned Parenthood in 2018 after leading the organization for 12 years, where she worked to increase affordable access to reproductive health care and helped push the Democratic Party to embrace abortion rights as a key issue.

After her departure, she co-founded a progressive organization called Supermajority that fights for gender equity. Richards also serves as co-chair of the super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. 

Richards was diagnosed in 2023 with a glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain tumor. The average glioblastoma survival time is only 12 to 18 months. 

Biden’s son Beau died from glioblastoma in 2015. 

The Medal of Freedom is given at the discretion of the president to a civilian who has made an “especially meritorious contribution” to the country.  

“A leader of utmost character, she has carved an inspiring legacy that endures in her incredible family, the countless lives she has made better, and a nation seeking the light of equality, justice, and freedom,” Biden said of Richards.  

Richards is the daughter of Ann Richards, who was the first woman to be elected governor of Texas. 

Biden has previously awarded the medal to dozens of people, including civil rights icons, prominent political leaders like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), gymnast Simone Biles and actor Michelle Yeoh. 

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley raised major concerns with President-elect Trump’s decision to appoint former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his Cabinet. 

Haley criticized both picks on SiriusXM’s “Nikki Haley Live.”

She condemned Gabbard’s comments on Russia’s war on Ukraine and her support of a pardon for Edward Snowden, who leaked U.S. intelligence.

“After Russia invaded Ukraine, Tulsi Gabbard literally blamed NATO, our Western alliance that’s responsible for countering Russia,” Haley said.

“She blamed NATO for the attack on Ukraine, and the Russians and the Chinese echoed her talking points and her interviews on Russian and Chinese television.”

Haley noted that Gabbard hasn’t changed her stances on foreign affairs and warned that her rhetoric could be a danger to the Department of National Intelligence.

“So now she’s defended Russia, she’s defended Syria, she’s defended Iran, and she’s defended China. No, she has not denounced any of these views. None of them. She hasn’t taken one of them back. DNI, Department of National Intelligence,” Haley added.

“This is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer,” she said. “DNI has to analyze real threats.”

On Kennedy, she said not enough was known about what he could offer to the Department of Health and Human Services. 

“He’s a liberal Democrat, environmental attorney, trial lawyer who will now be overseeing 25 percent of our federal budget and has no background in health care,” Haley stated.

“So some of you may think RFK is cool, some of you may like that he questions what’s in our food and what’s in our vaccines, but we don’t know, when he is given reins to an agency, what decisions he’s going to make behind the scenes.”

She instead suggested that he serve as a health adviser and urged the Senate to “ask the hard questions to him before we go and approve him.”

However, Trump has proposed recess appointments for his Cabinet members instead of the traditional Senate confirmations, if necessary.

Many of his picks have sparked controversy, but he has maintained the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson and has scheduled the candidates for private meetings with Senators alongside Vice-President elect JD Vance.

The jockeying for President-elect Trump’s pick to run the all-important Treasury Department is coming down to the wire.

Trump’s economic team will be tasked with imposing an aggressive tariff regime meant to shake up global trade while keeping financial markets calm amid the disruption. To lead that team, the president-elect is said to be struggling to find a nominee with a track record of supporting tariffs while calming any potential jitters on Wall Street.

Sources familiar with the process told The Hill that a pick for Treasury is on track to be sorted out by this week after Apollo Global Management co-founder Marc Rowan and Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, have emerged as front-runners, as well as Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent.

Rowan was expected to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The Trump team and those at Apollo Global did not respond to a request for comment.

Rowan and Warsh will likely end in a “photo finish,” one source described, while Bessent, who previously was considered a leading contender, could be tapped as head of the National Economic Council. Others, though, still see Bessent as a front-runner.

Treasury secretary is Trump’s most important Cabinet pick left. The president-elect ran on the notion of turning the economy around, a campaign promise that resonated with voters tired of inflation. Trump also wants to extend the 2017 tax cuts set to expire next year.

But most notably, Trump has proposed a general tariff of 10 to 20 percent on all imported goods in order to pull investment into the U.S. and bolster domestic industry. That’s a significant escalation of his first-term trade policies.

“The single greatest choice that Trump could make in the Cabinet to affect his economic agenda is the Treasury secretary. The Treasury secretary by statute has the greatest authority over tariffs and tariff policy in general,” said a person with knowledge of discussions. “The Trump folks know that this pick is key to his economic agenda.”

The president-elect is hard-edged about his tariffs plan but is also focused overall on what the market reaction will be to whomever he ends up picking. Trump was known to watch the stock market during his first administration and view it as a barometer of his economic policy.

A source familiar with the Trump transition called Rowan “the thoroughbred who is making a big run,” adding that his leading the Treasury Department “would send a strong signal and inspire confidence in the capital markets.”

“Wall Street thinks, ‘Oh my God, that would be unbelievable,’” the source said. “He built a significant business. He’s a CEO. He’s recognized around the globe as an expert on financial markets.”

Meanwhile, Warsh is helping on the Trump transition economic team but has also expressed interest in being the next chair of the Federal Reserve after Chair Jerome Powell’s term is up. His father-in-law, Ronald Lauder, is a Trump ally and heir to Estée Lauder.

Warsh, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in March, wrote if “foreign countries disfavor U.S. interests, they won’t gain the precious benefit of American protection or ready access to U.S. technology or markets,” suggesting he would be tough on other countries.

“I do think there’s been some pushback on Warsh because he has kind of very strongly a pro-growth, anti-protectionist record,” said the source familiar with the Trump transition. “MAGA crowd, the JD Vance wing of the Republican Party are like, ‘OK, this guy is too Chamber of Commerce Republican.'”

Another name floated is Trump’s former U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, who is a staunch tariff advocate. While he is still considered in the mix for Treasury secretary, some sources think Lighthizer is more likely to land another job in the Trump administration.

“The Trump inner circle, they’re thinking about the entire Trump agenda. It’s not just tariffs but a lot of the stuff that they want to do on China, it really can either be successful or be thwarted by a bad Treasury Secretary and specifically a Wall Street Treasury secretary,” said a person with knowledge of discussions.

The source noted that Lighthizer has always been in the mix for the spot because he is the closest to Trump’s opinions on economic policy.

Lighthizer would be expected to move very quickly on implementing tariffs and not be overly concerned about how the markets would receive the changes. Other names would be interested in arriving at a similar place but at a pace more digestible to financial markets.

“I would expect the next Trump administration to be much more aligned on where they want to get to over the past four years,” said a former Trump administration official. “I think the disagreement will ultimately be about how fast you get there.”

Trump opted to pick Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick for Commerce secretary, putting him out of the running for Treasury.

Although Lutnick was endorsed by entrepreneur Elon Musk for Treasury over the weekend, a person with knowledge of discussions suggested his opinion on tariffs led to him getting Commerce instead.

“I was told that Lutnick basically told Trump, ‘I’m 100 percent on board with the tariff agenda,’” said a person with knowledge of discussions, who added that Lutnick, along with Bessent, has publicly described tariffs as a tool for negotiating and that the Trump team took note of that.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) told The Hill on Wednesday that Trump doesn’t feel rushed about making his final decision on the Treasury pick. Hagerty was with Trump at a SpaceX launch the day prior and was reportedly also floated as a possible option for Treasury.

“This is a very personal decision for the president and he’s going to take the amount of time he needs. … I don’t think he feels rushed at all, I didn’t get that sense. He’s going to be very thorough about the process,” Hagerty said, adding that he has personally “stayed out” of the inner workings.

Al Weaver contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of celebrity doctor and failed Senate candidate Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) marks the latest potential shakeup of federal health agencies, and adds new uncertainty to the future of Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. 

If confirmed, Oz would take the helm of a $1.5 trillion agency that is essentially the federal government’s insurance provider. It sets payments rates for doctors, hospitals and insurers, while also overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act — programs that provide coverage for more than 150 million people. 

The pick continues a trend of Trump elevating television personalities for key administration roles. CMS policies and programs touch on almost every aspect of the health system, but Oz has no experience running a large bureaucracy. 

In his first term, Trump chose Seema Verma, a health consultant with a long history in health policy, for the CMS role. 

Here’s what to know about Oz and how he could impact health care: 

His TV career made him a household name  

Oz, the son of Turkish immigrants, was a prominent heart surgeon in New York before he became nationally famous. He gained prominence initially as a medical expert on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show through the early 2000s, where he discussed issues like aging, sex, diet, exercise and weight loss. She branded him “America’s doctor” as he became a regular guest.  

In 2009, Oprah and her production company helped launch Oz’s own daytime series, “The Dr. Oz Show.” The show aired until Oz declared his candidacy for Senate in 2021. It aired its final episode in January 2022. The show won 10 Daytime Emmy awards during its run. 

Oz’s politics during the show were unclear. Michelle Obama appeared on the show in 2013, and Trump was a guest during his 2016 campaign, an appearance in which he released the results of a physical. 

Renowned heart surgeon 

Oz has an undergraduate degree from Harvard and earned a doctorate in medicine as well as a master’s in business degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School, which is also Trump’s alma mater.

Oz spent much of his career at Columbia University and its affiliated medical center.  

He served as director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and was part of a team in 2001 and 2002 that performed the first totally endoscopic, robotic open-heart operation, as well as the first robotic coronary artery bypass operation in the United States, the hospital said at the time. 

He was named vice-chairman and professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, before the university quietly cut ties with him in 2022. 

Dubious endorsements 

Oz has a history of endorsing dubious and often controversial products and treatments, blurring the lines between celebrity pitchman and medical doctor. Critics said his show provided a platform for fringe claims not backed by evidence. 

A 2014 study in the British Medical Journal found that more than half of the claims and recommendations made on Oz’s show had no evidence or were outright contradicted by available science. 

During a Senate hearing in 2014, Oz was sharply questioned by lawmakers including then-Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) over his promotion of weight loss supplements as miracles. 

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oz lobbied the Trump administration to rush trials of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus. The Trump administration also pressured FDA on the drug. It was authorized for use in March 2020, but was soon shown to be ineffective.  

Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who will be ranking member during Oz’s confirmation next year, mentioned Oz’s history of unscientific endorsements as an area of concern.  

“Trump’s health care agenda is all about empowering fraudsters and big business while everyday Americans are stuck with the bill. Dr. Oz is no stranger to peddling nonsense to innocent Americans without facing consequences,” Wyden said in a statement. 

GOP Senate candidate 

Oz ran for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022 and gained Trump’s endorsement after winning a close and bruising primary, but ultimately lost to now-Sen. John Fetterman (D).  

Before he ran for Senate, Oz promoted ObamaCare and spoke favorably about health insurance mandates, CNN’s KFile reported. But his then-campaign spokesperson walked back his previous statements and said Oz would not have voted for the law. 

Oz ran as a “pro-life” candidate who said abortion was “murder” at any stage in pregnancy. He drew condemnation from Democrats and abortion rights advocates for saying during a debate that abortion policy should be left to “local political leaders.”  

During the campaign, Oz also drew criticism for mocking Fetterman for suffering a stroke. 

After Trump announced his pick of Oz on Tuesday, Fetterman said he was open to supporting his former rival. 

“If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude,” Fetterman said in a post on the social platform X.

Medicare/Medicaid cuts?  

In a statement announcing his choice, Trump said Oz will “cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend, and a quarter of our entire National Budget.”  

During the campaign, Trump pledged not to cut Medicare or Social Security but made no such promises about Medicaid.  With Republicans in control of government, lawmakers are eyeing long-sought cuts and changes to the safety-net program, which could be used to pay for an extension of the tax cuts from Trump’s first administration. 

It’s not clear what Oz or his would-be boss, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., think about Medicaid policy. 

But Oz has long been a supporter of Medicare Advantage, a private-sector alternative to traditional Medicare. In 2024, more than half of Americans eligible for Medicare are enrolled in one of the plans offered by large insurance companies, including UnitedHealthcare and Humana. MA plans also account for more than half of Medicare spending.  

“Believe it or not, it is possible to get health insurance plans now with a zero-dollar monthly premium,” Oz said in a YouTube video posted to channel in August. “Millions of people already are doing it and so could you.”  

During his Senate campaign, Oz promoted a policy of expanding access to Medicare Advantage to any individual who wants to enroll.  

In 2020, he co-authored an article in Forbes arguing for “Medicare Advantage For All.” The idea was to eliminate Medicare and employer sponsored insurance so every American not on Medicaid would be enrolled in a private Medicare Advantage plan.  

It would be funded by using “an affordable 20 percent payroll tax, which is close to the amount most employers currently spend to buy insured care.” 

But Medicare Advantage plans have come under scrutiny for overbilling Medicare, having limited provider networks and routinely denying care for patients.