The Senate confirmed Harmeet Dhillon to lead the Civil Rights Division and Mehmet Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid

The U.S. Senate confirmed Harmeet Dhillon Thursday as the new head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and Mehmet Oz as the new director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The lawyer won confirmation after a final tally of 52 votes in favor and 45 against, while the famed former heart surgeon and television host was confirmed with a final tally of 53 votes in favor and 45 against.

The confirmation of both political figures represents an endorsement for U.S. President Donald Trump, who was his biggest endorsement and stated on different occasions that he hoped his two nominees could make their positions official after the Senate vote. And, although it was commented from the beginning that both Dhillon and Oz had high probabilities of being confirmed in the upper chamber, different media reported in the last days that the vote could end up being tighter than expected, putting at risk the confirmation of at least one of them.

Important responsibilities for Dhillon and Oz

After her new position as the Justice Department's civil rights official, Dhillon will have an important responsibility within the administration, since she will also lead everything related to electoral laws, freedom of expression and discrimination. Dhillon, who was born in India, was Trump's legal advisor and managing partner of the Dhillon Law Group in San Francisco, California, specializing in commercial litigation, First Amendment rights, election law matters and labor law. In addition, Dhillon is the founder and executive director of the Center for American Liberty, which is an organization whose primary mission is to "defend the civil liberties of Americans forgotten by historic civil rights organizations."

For his part, Oz has been a famous figure on American television over the past few years thanks to his television show, which featured audience participation and the former heart surgeon giving medical and health recommendations. His confirmation as CMS director comes at a sensitive time, as the U.S. Congress has been debating whether to execute cuts to the Medicaid program or not. On this issue, Oz has not stated at any point whether or not he would oppose cuts to the government-funded program.