Trump taps RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz, Elon Musk's DOGE mandate, Walmart's tariff warning: Politics news roundup

William Gavin
·5-min read
Graphic: Images: Win McNamee, Brandon Bell, Kamil Krzaczynski, Blake Nissen for The Boston Globe
Graphic: Images: Win McNamee, Brandon Bell, Kamil Krzaczynski, Blake Nissen for The Boston Globe

President-elect Donald Trump and his team have been busy.

A number of high-profile planned appointments — including Howard Lutnick to oversee the Commerce Department and Medicare and Robert F. Kennedy Jr to take charge of the Department of Health and Human Services — have rocked the markets, while Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has revealed his resignation plans.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s planned government spending group has started to outline its priorities, spelling — potentially — bad news for companies like Intuit (INTU). And Wall Street is getting excited about Trump’s approach to regulation and mergers, even as companies like Walmart bemoan the effects of his tariffs.

Here’s the latest on those issues — and more — in this week’s politics roundup.

Dr. Oz is Trump’s pick to oversee Medicare. He owns healthcare stocks that could benefit

Dr. Mehmet Oz and his wife own as much as $600,000 in companies licensed for Medicare Advantage plans, according to 2022 financial disclosures. - Photo: Win McNamee (Getty Images)
Dr. Mehmet Oz and his wife own as much as $600,000 in companies licensed for Medicare Advantage plans, according to 2022 financial disclosures. - Photo: Win McNamee (Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has reported owning as much as $600,000 in stock from companies benefiting from private Medicare services.

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Musk and Ramaswamy’s DOGE will work with Marjorie Taylor Greene on cost-cutting

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk with President-elect Trump in Texas ahead of SpaceX’s sixth Starship test. - Photo: Brandon Bell (Getty Images)
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk with President-elect Trump in Texas ahead of SpaceX’s sixth Starship test. - Photo: Brandon Bell (Getty Images)

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have laid out their plans for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Despite being labeled an “outside of government” group by President-elect Donald Trump, the two say that DOGE will work closely with Congress and the executive branch.

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Mergers and acquisitions could kick into high gear under Trump

Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski (Getty Images)
Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski (Getty Images)

A second Donald Trump administration and lower interest rates could set the stage for a renaissance in the mergers and acquisitions market.

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Walmart says Trump’s tariffs could mean higher prices

A line forms outside of the Walmart in Quincy, MA on April 4, 2020. - Image: Blake Nissen for The Boston Globe (Getty Images)
A line forms outside of the Walmart in Quincy, MA on April 4, 2020. - Image: Blake Nissen for The Boston Globe (Getty Images)

Walmart (WMT) may have no choice but to raise prices on certain items if proposed tariffs on imports are enacted under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, according to a company executive.

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Trump’s latest hire is a boon for Elon Musk’s SpaceX — and a hit to Big Tech

Brendan Carr, Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, was appointed to his post by then-President Donald Trump in 2017. He’s now Trump’s pick to chair the agency. - Photo: Kevin Dietsch (Getty Images)
Brendan Carr, Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, was appointed to his post by then-President Donald Trump in 2017. He’s now Trump’s pick to chair the agency. - Photo: Kevin Dietsch (Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump said he would appoint Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr as chair, delivering another win to ally Elon Musk and a gut punch to Big Tech.

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‘Breath of fresh air’: Delta’s CEO is optimistic about Trump

Delta CEO Ed Bastian - Photo: Stephanie Keith (Getty Images)
Delta CEO Ed Bastian - Photo: Stephanie Keith (Getty Images)

Delta Airlines (DAL) CEO Ed Bastian is cautiously optimistic about President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, after what he called a “level of overreach” over the past four years of the Biden administration.

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SEC Chair Gary Gensler will resign during Donald Trump’s inauguration

SEC Chair Gary Gensler - Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)
SEC Chair Gary Gensler - Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has announced that he will wait to resign from his post until the day of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

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Donald Trump taps Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department

Photo: Angela Weiss (Getty Images)
Photo: Angela Weiss (Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of investment giant Cantor Fitzgerald, as his Commerce secretary.

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Intuit and H&R Block stocks tank because Elon Musk’s DOGE wants to simplify tax filing

Image: Israel Sebastian (Getty Images)
Image: Israel Sebastian (Getty Images)

Tax prep company stocks are falling as Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) reportedly has its sights locked on simplifying the tax code — and helping Americans file for free.

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Top FDA vaccine official says RFK Jr. nomination is a chance for scientists to make the case for vaccines

Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Peter Marks, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 18, 2021. - Image: Susan Walsh (Getty Images)
Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Peter Marks, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 18, 2021. - Image: Susan Walsh (Getty Images)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) head of vaccine safety says that President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of vaccine skeptics could be an opportunity for the science community to teach the public about the value of these life-saving drugs. However, if these efforts fail it could lead to “natural consequences.”

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RFK Jr. doesn’t scare Nestle

A woman walks past an aisle with bottled water at a supermarket in Los Angeles, California on March 15, 2018. - Image: Frederic J. Brown (Getty Images)
A woman walks past an aisle with bottled water at a supermarket in Los Angeles, California on March 15, 2018. - Image: Frederic J. Brown (Getty Images)

A Nestle (NSRGY) executive said on Tuesday that the company is not too worried about the possibility of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been highly critical of packaged and processed food in the U.S., becoming the next leader of the Department of Health and Human Services.

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A dental stock rises as RFK Jr. threatens to remove fluoride from America’s water

Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)
Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)

The stock of a dental supply company jumped over 6% on Monday, driven by investor optimism over a potential rise in dental treatments if Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to eliminate fluoride from drinking water succeeds.

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Trump’s tariff policies have hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin feeling ‘very anxious’

Citadel CEO and Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin speaks at an event on November 9, 2024. The billionaire hedge fund manager is a major Republican donor. - Image: John Parra (Getty Images)
Citadel CEO and Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin speaks at an event on November 9, 2024. The billionaire hedge fund manager is a major Republican donor. - Image: John Parra (Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to slap imports with a wide range of tariffs, making Citadel CEO Ken Griffin “very anxious.”

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Elon Musk says the allegations against Trump’s AG pick Matt Gaetz are ‘worth less than nothing’

Elon Musk - Photo: Anna Moneymaker (Getty Images)
Elon Musk - Photo: Anna Moneymaker (Getty Images)

On Tuesday, Elon Musk went to bat for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for attorney general, slamming allegations against him as “worth less than nothing.” Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration to serve as attorney general on Thursday as more allegations were made public.

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