Dr. Mehmet Oz is used to surgery, but his time in Washington, DC has been even more complex.
As a television host, physician, and author, Oz came into the Trump administration learning quickly in the job as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
'I'm not a trained bureaucrat,' he said, joking that his job was now 'just like surgery but bloodier,' in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail after speaking at a panel at the the Conservative Political Action Conference.
The normally dutiful job of shepherding the massive government programs has now become patient zero for the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate fraud.
Trump appointed Vice President JD Vance to serve as the administration's 'Fraud Czar,' working with Oz to root out abuse in the system.
The President teased on Friday that fraud 'raids' under Vance's direction have already started in Los Angeles.
The focus is on states run by 'crooked Democrats,' as Trump puts it. And he's anticipating that the results of raids will be 'so large' that the government should be able to balance the budget.
It is sparking fears among Americans that they may not be able to receive their Medicare and Medicaid perks.
But newly-appointed Fraud Czar Vance and Oz are working reassure Americans that they will still receive their benefits.
Oz warned groups who were trying to defraud Medicare should 'start running, because we're coming for you.'
The task force has identified Medicare and Medicaid as the biggest target for fraud as the programs pays out $2 trillion of funding per year.
In February, CMS announced that $259.5 million in Medicaid funds would be withheld from Minnesota in reimbursements due to fraud concerns, and announced a nationwide moratorium on Medicare enrollment for select medical equipment.
'As the task force to root out waste, fraud and abuse ramps up its work, we expect this number to grow exponentially.'
On Thursday, the anti-fraud task force announced the suspension of 221 hospice and healthcare providers in Los Angeles. The week prior, the task force announced the suspensions of 70 providers.
Vance, Oz told the Daily Mail, was the right man for the job, citing the Vice President's experience growing up in poor communities they were trying to serve.
'JD is able to speak very openly and honestly, he's a very upstanding person that has personal experience dealing with many of the issues that America is plagued by, being forgotten,' he said.
American citizens waiting in line for benefits, he said, should not have their benefits and rights upended by fraudsters.
Rooting out fraud is a common crusade for government bureaucrats, but historically they come up short.
Former DOGE director Elon Musk made significant motions to root out fraud, but after his efforts hit a buzzsaw of resistance he left to return to his companies.
Musk later called his efforts as 'a very interesting side quest' with some success but expressed regret that many of his 'common sense' efforts for reform were rejected.
Oz was optimistic that Vance would have more success, as he was bringing together officials across the administration to work together.
'His team is actually excellent, by the way; they have lots of experts around them and they're gathering together a whole of government approach.'
The team was working with officials in the Treasury Department, the Attorney General's Office and even the Internal Revenue Service to work together on the mission.
Oz said his goal was to stay focused and very precise in his mission.
'You have to be able to stay extraordinarily focused on your mission because the bureaucracy will eat you alive,' he said. 'You cannot take a meat cleaver to fraud; you have to take a surgical scalpel; fraudsters hide amongst the innocent.'
Efforts to root out fraud, he said, would include evidence of fraud from foreign nationals in Minnesota, California, and other states
'Our job is to make sure that the programs, as they were designed, work well, but don't let these programs, especially the foreign guys take advantage of it,' he said. 'It is terrible to see it weaponized by other countries and foreign nationals.'
Although illegal immigrants are technically not allowed by law to take advantage of government programs for citizens, they found ways to exploit them under former President Joe Biden's administration.
That was by design, he said.
'We are bribing illegal immigrants in some states to stay here by giving them free health benefits, so they will never want to leave,' he said. 'If I say, 'Hey, listen, I'll give you free bing free food, free healthcare, come on down.' Well, you don’t have to work. Like, what’s the point?
Democrats, he said, operated on the belief that everyone should receive government services, without asking too many questions.
Under Vance and Trump, that was changing rapidly.
Oz has known Vance for nearly ten years, as he recalled that they campaigned together as senate candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.
Vance won his senate seat in Ohio, but Oz came up short.
He is not looking back, however, as he noted that his work in the Trump administration was much more fulfilling than serving as a senator.
Working with the president, he said, was a real privilege as he was focused and determined to get things done.
'This president is different; I think; than anyone else I've ever worked with. He will call you at every crazy hour of the day.'
He revealed he was once out for dinner in Washington, DC with fellow cabinet members Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Secretary Marco Rubio when Trump called them to talk shop. The next morning, Oz said, he appeared on a television show at 7:00 in the morning, and Trump called him immediately after to discuss it.
'When does he sleep?' he recalled thinking, but at the same time he was trilled that Trump was supportive of his work. That made his job much easier, he said.
'He is so passionate and such a hands on leader that if you have a problem, you go to him,'