Sister of famous Turkish-American doctor nominated for deputy position

WASHINGTON

The White House has submitted the nomination of Seval Öz, the sister of renowned Turkish-American heart surgeon and TV personality Mehmet Öz, for a deputy secretary position at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In November 2024, President Donald Trump appointed Mehmet Öz to lead the country’s public health insurance program.

A specialist in autonomous vehicle technology, Seval Öz has been nominated for a newly created deputy secretary role at the Transportation Department.

Her nomination has been submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Öz served as the head of the program developed for Google's self-driving car technology from 2011 to 2014.

In 2016, Seval Öz was honored as one of the "30 Most Influential Turkish Women" by TurkOfAmerica magazine.

The Öz siblings’ late father, Professor Dr. Mustafa Öz, was born in Türkiye’s central province of Konya.

US ambassador nominee for Ankara awaits Senate approval

Meanwhile, the White House has also formally submitted the nomination of Tom Barrack, founder of investment firm Colony Capital, to the U.S. Senate for confirmation as the next ambassador to Türkiye.

Born and raised in California, the 77-year-old Barrack completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California and earned a law degree from the University of San Diego.

He is the grandson of an immigrant family that moved from Ottoman-controlled Lebanon to the U.S. in 1900. Growing up in Culver City, Los Angeles, Barrack’s father worked as a grocer and his mother was a secretary. During his university years, he played rugby before starting a legal career, which included working in Saudi Arabia.

In the 1980s, Barrack served as deputy undersecretary at the Department of the Interior under President Ronald Reagan.