Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said the ultimate goal of the American health care system is to help increase the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by “trillions” of dollars.

The United States is the only high-income nation in the developed world without any form of universal health care.

The CMS Administrator’s remarks come just as millions of Americans are anxiously waiting to see by how much their health insurance premiums will rise next year. Many are expected to at least double without the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire at the end of this year unless Congress and the President act.

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“What the health care system should do is not just pay the bills,” Oz told Fox Business‘ Maria Bartiromo Friday morning.

“We should make you so healthy that you flourish in life, and you would engage the workplace.”

“Getting America back to work, full speed, getting you to work longer if you desire, that builds trillions of dollars of value to the GDP,” Oz added.

“That’s the goal of the health system,” he said.

Bartiromo agreed, saying, “Absolutely.”

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Pediatrician and public health expert Dr. Annie Andrews, who is running for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, responded sarcastically: “Ahh yes I’ll never forget the moment I decided to pursue a career in medicine so that I could keep Americans in the workforce and boost the GDP.”

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery and a CNN medical analyst, expressed disagreement with Oz: “The goal of the health system is not to build trillions of dollars for the GDP.”

Dr Oz: “We should make you so healthy that you flourish in life and you engage the workplace. Getting America back to work full speed, getting you to work longer if you desire, that builds trillions of dollars of value to the GDP. That’s the goal of the health system.” pic.twitter.com/c3K96dats1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 24, 2025

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Image via Reuters

Just after pardoning the founder of Binance, President Donald Trump struggled to explain his decision — appearing unfamiliar with both the recipient and the legal issues surrounding the case that led to his conviction.

“President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, “the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company.”

Asked on Thursday why he chose to issue the pardon, and if it had anything to do with Zhao’s involvement with the Trump family’s crypto business, the President responded, “Who is that?”

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“The founder of Binance,” the reporter replied.

“The recent one, yes,” Trump said. “I believe we’re talking about the same person, ’cause I do pardon a lot of people.”

“I don’t know — he was recommended by a lot of people,” Trump continued. “A lot of people say that — are you talking about the crypto person?”

“Yes.”

“A lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything,” the President declared. “He served four months in jail, and they say that he was not guilty of anything, that what he did —” Trump said before the reporter interjected.

“Well,” Trump responded, “you don’t know much about crypto, you know nothing about, you know nothing about nothing. You’re fake news.”

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“But let me just tell you that he was,” Trump said, “somebody that, as I was told, I don’t know him, I don’t believe I’ve ever met him. But I’ve been told, a lot of support. He had a lot of support, and they said that what he did is not even a crime.”

“It wasn’t a crime, that he was persecuted by the Biden administration, and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”

The Wall Street Journal also reported that a “pardon will likely pave the way for Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, to return to the U.S. after the company pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements and was barred from operating in the country.”

Collins: Can you explain why you chose to pardon the founder of Binance and did it have anything to do with his involvement with you family—

Trump: Which founder is that?

Collins: Binance. He has an involvement in your family’s business

Trump: He was recommended by a lot of… pic.twitter.com/RMOTsd1sb0

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 23, 2025

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Image via Reuters 

The top Democrats on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees have issued a scathing letter announcing they are launching an investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to obtain $230 million in compensation for investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In that letter, addressed to President Donald Trump at “The White House (whatever’s left of it),” they describe his  efforts as “blatantly illegal and unconstitutional,” “comically unconstitutional,” a “shake down,” “theft,” and an “outrageous conspiracy.” CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott MacFarlane posted the three-page document to social media.

“Your plan to have your obedient underlings at the Department of Justice (DOJ) instruct the U.S. Treasury to pay you, personally, hundreds of millions of dollars especially at a time when most Americans are struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, and afford health care—is an outrageous and shocking attempt to shake down the American people,” wrote Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin and Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

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“The Founders feared presidents like you might one day be tempted to use their powers to steal U.S. taxpayer funds,” the two Democrats continued.

They described the U.S. Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause, which they said prohibits any payment from the federal government or from the states, except for the president’s salary.

“Your plan to have your former criminal defense attorneys, including the Deputy Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General, sign off on your demand for an astronomical $230 million payout from the U.S. Treasury clearly violates this ban on additional payments,” they said, calling his demands “bogus.”

They allege that Trump waited until he “became President and installed your handpicked loyalists at DOJ, knowing that you could instruct them to co-sign your demand notes in secret behind closed doors, and then you could present the notes to the U.S. Treasury for cold hard cash courtesy of the American taxpayer. That isn’t justice, it is theft.”

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They add that they “urge you to renounce your plan publicly and assure the American people that their President is not pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars at their expense.”

The Democrats are asking the President to produce related documents and information by October 30.

NEW: Ranking Members of House Judiciary & Oversight committees launch probe into reported Trump pursuit of $230 million in claims from taxpayers

Inquiry to Admin: “The Founders feared presidents like you might one day be tempted to use their powers to steal US taxpayer funds” pic.twitter.com/60ODPllkic

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) October 23, 2025

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