'Hurting the White House': Trump's effort to win over GOP holdouts is backfiring

02 July

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, as he sits to sign an executive order, in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. February 14, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS) under President Donald Trump, reportedly faced significant pushback from House Republicans Wednesday during a private briefing on the present version of the president's "Big, Beautiful Bill."

Politico reported that a House Republican who attended the meeting said, “Dr. Oz is hurting the White House."

Another participant, whose identity was not disclosed in the report, underscored the credibility gap with a stinging personal jab. “No one wants to take political advice from a guy that lost a race to [Sen. John] Fetterman," they told Politico.

The report further highlighted that Oz sparked major pushback during a call earlier this week with Main Street Caucus Republicans, where he asserted that the more substantial Medicaid reductions added by the Senate amounted to "waste, fraud and abuse."

In May, Oz claimed during an interview that including work requirements for Medicaid in the expansive legislation will help “future proof” the program, aligning with the administration’s intention to safeguard social welfare services.

“Every great people takes care of their most vulnerable, and we’re a great nation,” he said at the time, adding that the country will uphold that principle.

“We’re gonna do that. So there’s a lot of sensitivity about accused of not taking care of people who have disabilities or seniors without money or children.”

Approximately 11.8 million adults and children could see their health insurance disappear if If the Republican-led domestic policy proposal becomes law.

The act would gradually scale back coverage under Medicaid and Obamacare over the next decade, recovering nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and CHIP, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the House remains on track to vote on the bill, but Oz’s intervention may have hardened opposition to the legislation.

House GOP leaders have told reporters at the Capitol that they are hopeful that the remaining holdouts will come around within the next few hours. However, even after an agreement is secured, it may still take several more hours to navigate the formal process required before the bill can be delivered to Trump for his signature.

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