Dr. Mehmet Oz says he wants former rival Sen. John Fetterman to join the Republican Party: ‘We need as many people as are willing to be brave and push back’
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said that he wants Democratic Sen. John Fetterman to cross the aisle and join the Republican Party, four years after the two faced off in Pennsylvania’s bitterly contested Senate race.
Oz and Republicans would welcome Fetterman
Oz made the comments on Harry Cole’s podcast a day after Fetterman appeared in a surprise video during the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas.
“I want everyone in the party. God works in mysterious ways, but they’re brilliant and loving ways and I’m very happy for that,” Oz said on “Harry Cole Saves the West.”
NEW: “the guy works in mysterious ways”
After losing high profile Pennsylvania senate race to @SenFettermanPA in ‘22, @DrOzCMS tells me he wants the unexpected star of the RNC Dallas convention to cross the floor and join the Republicans. pic.twitter.com/RBcE8QuEMm
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) September 10, 2026
“Would you like to see him come over to Republican?” Cole asked.
“Of course. We need as many people as are willing to be brave and push back on an orthodoxy or a rhetoric that doesn’t actually describe reality,” Oz responded, as reported by The Hill.
Former electoral rivals
Fetterman defeated Oz by five points in Pennsylvania’s 2022 Senate election, despite suffering a stroke during the campaign.
The Democratic senator’s appearance at the GOP convention on September 9 drew criticism from some members of his own party after he praised Republican Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania.
“Why am I here talking to you today?” Fetterman said in the video. “Because, well, I’m a commonsense Democrat.”
“David McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done,” he added, saying they would work with President Donald Trump to support Pennsylvania’s steel industry.
Criticism from Democrats
Fetterman has increasingly faced criticism from fellow Democrats over his willingness to work with Republicans and break with his party on some issues.
Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, told CNN that Fetterman has been “nowhere to be found” in their state and that “he’s spending his time, frankly, going on right-wing media to bash the Democrats.”
Deluzio has also said he may challenge Fetterman when his Senate seat is up for grabs in 2028.
Meanwhile, political commentator Bill O’Reilly predicted on September 10 that Fetterman is “going to be a Republican,” citing his relationship with Trump and McCormick.
Fetterman says he’s staying a Democrat
Despite the speculation, Fetterman has repeatedly said he has no plans to switch parties.
“I’m not going to be a Republican, but I’m going to be a Democrat that’s going to have a conversation with whoever is playing it straight,” he recently told Fox News.
Fetterman has also said he would continue to caucus with Democrats if the party wins control of the Senate in November.