WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is tapping Dr. Casey Means, a physician-turned-wellness influencer with close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as his nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his initial pick for the influential health post.
Trump said in a social media post Wednesday that Means has ‘‘impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials’’ – referring to the ‘’ Make America Healthy Again ‘’ slogan – and that she will work to eradicate chronic disease and improve the health and well-being of Americans.
‘‘Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding,’’ Trump said. ‘‘Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History.’’
In doing so, Trump withdrew former Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat from consideration for the job, marking at least the second health-related pick from Trump to be pulled from Senate consideration. Nesheiwat had been scheduled to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Thursday for her confirmation hearing.
Means and her brother, former lobbyist Calley Means, served as key advisers to Kennedy’s longshot 2024 presidential bid and helped broker his endorsement of Trump last summer. The pair made appearances with some of Trump’s biggest supporters, winning praise from conservative pundit Tucker Carlson and podcaster Joe Rogan. Calley Means is currently a White House adviser who appears frequently on television to promote restrictions on SNAP benefits, removing fluoride from drinking water and other MAHA agenda items.
Casey Means has no government experience and dropped out of her surgical residency program, saying she became disillusioned with traditional medicine. She founded a health tech company, Levels, that helps users track blood sugar and other metrics. She also makes money from dietary supplements, creams, teas and other products sponsored on her social media accounts.
In interviews and articles, Means and her brother describe a dizzying web of influences to blame for the nation’s health problems, including corrupt food conglomerates that have hooked Americans on unhealthy diets, leaving them reliant on daily medications from the pharmaceutical industry to manage obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions.
Few health experts would dispute that the American diet — full of processed foods — is a contributor to obesity and related problems. But Means goes further, linking changes in diet and lifestyle to a raft of conditions including infertility, Alzheimer’s, depression and erectile dysfunction.