Why was John Fetterman so quick to say he'd support Trump's nomination of Dr. Oz?

WASHINGTON — After President-elect Donald Trump chose Mehmet Oz to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, the celebrity doctor's 2022 opponent, Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, quickly said he could support the nominee.

Trump on Tuesday nominated Dr. Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, responsible for the three programs — Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act — that more than half the country relies on for health insurance.

"If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I'm voting for the dude," Fetterman, D-Pa., said on the social media site X.

Fetterman defeated Oz in 2022 in the costly race to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. Oz ran with Trump's endorsement.

Political observers said Fetterman's comments were in line with the brand he has created since coming to Washington.

"Fetterman's made it clear he sort of marches to his own drummer," said Berwood Yost, director of the Franklin & Marshall College poll.

Fetterman did not respond to a request for comment.

Fetterman has received blowback from some progressives for his strong support of Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the Palestinian group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. His position on the Israel-Hamas war was the reason Fetterman gave for endorsing another Trump nominee, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

"I look forward to voting for Rep. Stefanik to continue a strong and unapologetic pro-Israel position," he said on X.

And Fetterman had words of support for Trump's pick for U.S. secretary of state, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

"Unsurprisingly, the other team's pick will have political differences than my own," he posted on X. "That being said, my colleague, Sen. Marco Rubio, is a strong choice and I look forward to voting for his confirmation."

But Fetterman described Trump's pick for attorney general, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, as a "jerkoff."

Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College, said Fetterman "regularly goes counter to expectations on a number of matters."

"We've seen him take positions that might not be what you'd expect given past experiences," Borick said. "This is another example of him charting a path that might be pretty unique to his brand."

By his comments, Fetterman made it clear that he wanted to ensure that under Oz, Medicare and Medicaid would remain unscathed during the second Trump administration.

"His broader goal is the protection of these health care programs," Borick said, "It's not a nuanced argument — if he's there to look after these programs, I can put politics aside."

Fetterman's conditional support of Oz is aligned with the majority of voters who want "that kind of cooperation and want to see things get done," Yost said.

"There's something that voters outside of the strongest partisans want to see," he said.

In addition, given that Pennsylvania voters backed Trump and appeared to have ousted three-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Fetterman might also be reading the election returns, Borick said.

"He might be giving a degree of deference to the president-elect, given the outcome of the election," Borick said. "On this one, he might not want to engage. There will be others that he will want to dig in much harder. It provides an opportunity to say, 'I can look beyond politics when I'm making a decision.' Overall it helps him with his broader standing in Pennsylvania."

Lew Irwin, a political scientist at Duquesne University, said Gov. Josh Shapiro is offering a similar message of cooperation.

"Without question, the message from Pennsylvania statewide officeholders, Fetterman and Gov. Josh Shapiro, that we're gonna continue to hear is them talking about working with people on both sides of the aisle," Irwin said. "The clear message they're going to take from this election is that a more centrist message, and willingness to engage in bipartisan cooperation, are things Pennsylvania voters want to see."

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