Trump tax bill has famous behind-the-scenes lobbyist: Dr. Oz

WASHINGTON — As GOP leadership pushes to pass President Trump’s tax megabill this week, one administration official has been working hard behind the scenes to close the deal: Mehmet Oz, who oversees Medicare and Medicaid.

House Republicans, including those on the fence about the bill’s deep cuts to Medicaid, left a meeting at the White House on Wednesday with the president and heart-surgeon-turned-TV-personality Oz with a bit more optimism about the bill’s passage, despite some continued holdups over Medicaid and rural health. 

“A number of concerns about Medicaid were substantially mitigated,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), who chairs the Main Street Caucus, a group of Republicans who refer to themselves as pragmatic, told reporters following the White House meeting.