In a change of course, Dr. Mehmet Oz said Wednesday that he will renounce his Turkish citizenship if elected to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate.
Oz, who had previously maintained that he would keep his dual citizenship to care for his mother who lives in Istanbul and suffers from Alzheimer’s, said he would renounce his citizenship before his swearing-in as a senator.
DUAL TURKISH CITIZENSHIP COULD BE SECURITY DILEMMA IF DR. OZ BECOMES SEN. OZ
“My dual citizenship has become a distraction in this campaign,” Oz wrote in a Twitter post. “I’m committing that before I am sworn in as the next U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania I will only be a U.S. citizen.”
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) March 16, 2022
The change comes after experts suggested that Oz’s dual citizenship could pose a security problem for intelligence briefings.
“He might as well announce that he’s no longer running,” former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell wrote in a tweet.
The qualifications to run for Senate do not bar dual citizens or those born outside the United States. Senators only need to be a U.S. citizen for at least nine years.
Oz’s Republican primary challenger, Dave McCormick, signaled that he believes Oz renouncing his citizenship after being elected would not be soon enough.
“Voters can’t trust Mehmet Oz. He has lied about his position on abortion, the 2nd Amendment, immigration, masks, and Fauci to name a few. Renounce your Turkish citizenship now. We won’t be fooled again,” McCormick tweeted.
Oz has written off McCormick’s attacks as “bigoted,” saying they are rooted in his heritage as the child of immigrants and “reminiscent of slurs made in the past about Catholics and Jews.”
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Meanwhile, Oz’s position in the general election has not been solidified. He trailed McCormick by 9 points in a Fox News survey conducted earlier this month.
Pennsylvania’s Republican primary is set for May 17.
