Dr. Casey Means, Trump’s new surgeon basic nominee, is RFK Jr. ally and MAHA advocate
President Trump will nominate Dr. Casey Means, an ally of Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and distinguished advocate for his agenda, to function the U.S. surgeon basic, the president introduced Wednesday.
Means replaces Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, whose nomination was withdrawn by the White Home a day earlier than she was scheduled to look at a Senate affirmation listening to.
Mr. Trump mentioned in a Reality Social publish that Means “has impeccable “MAHA” credentials” — referring to the acronym for “Make America Wholesome Once more,” a slogan utilized by Kennedy.
“Her tutorial achievements, collectively together with her life’s work, are completely excellent,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of many best Surgeon Generals in United States Historical past.”
The surgeon basic oversees 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Well being Service Commissioned Corps, which is a part of the Division of Well being and Human Companies, and performs a key position in setting the nationwide agenda on public well being. The nominee have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Means was near Kennedy in the course of the marketing campaign, alongside together with her brother, Calley Means, who performed a key position in orchestrating Kennedy’s endorsement of Mr. Trump, in keeping with a few of Kennedy allies who performed a task within the transition.
Casey Means has written about how, after attending Stanford Medical College and coaching to change into a surgeon, she opted to depart “conventional medication” to dedicate her life to “tackling the basis reason behind why Individuals are sick.”
She co-founded Ranges, a well being app that may connect with glucose displays, and has constructed a big following on-line for writing about well being and wellness.
Each Means siblings soared to prominence in recent times after viral interviews decrying the affect of the meals and drug trade. Their views align with Kennedy’s claims that unhealthy meals and life-style selections underpin an enormous swath of Individuals’ well being situations.
The 2 siblings authored the bestseller “Good Vitality” after their mom died of pancreatic most cancers, saying that she had been “merely prescribed drugs and never set on a path of curiosity about how these situations are linked and the way the basis trigger may be reversed.”
An interview the 2 did with Tucker Carlson — ranked by Apple because the most-shared podcast episode of 2024 — was titled “The Reality About Ozempic, the Tablet, and How Massive Pharma Retains You Sick.”
“She’s certified. She’s energetic. She’s been a very good communicator, which is the position of surgeon basic. She appears to have good moral moorings. And he or she displays this new serious about the place HHS ought to be. I believe it is a daring decide,” Dr. Robert Malone, one other shut ally of Kennedy, advised CBS Information.
Casey and Calley Means have additionally earned skepticism from a few of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine base, who’ve grown annoyed with what they worry has been Kennedy’s drifting consideration away from what they hoped can be a ban of a number of vaccines and in the direction of a crackdown on unhealthy meals and components like artificial meals dyes.
“The dietary agenda is a core a part of MAHA. It might not be their core a part of MAHA. However there is not any doubt that it is a central a part of the general mission,” he mentioned.
Malone acknowledged the notion amongst a few of Kennedy’s base that Means had not been “sufficiently vocal, early sufficient, in rejecting the mRNA vaccine merchandise,” as he had been.
Malone himself rose to prominence criticizing the photographs whereas portray himself because the inventor of mRNA vaccines, a declare that different scientists rejected as misinformation. He was with Kennedy and Mr. Trump in Florida on election evening.
Means has mentioned she backs Kennedy “relentlessly pushing for vaccine security” and mentioned she thought it was “felony” to require vaccinations. She has additionally claimed “the present excessive and rising vaccine schedule” could possibly be “inflicting well being declines in weak kids. This must be investigated,” she wrote on her web site final yr.
Calley Means now serves as a particular authorities worker, advising Kennedy and backing state payments selling his agenda.
Casey Means was initially favored as one contender for the surgeon basic decide, a few of Kennedy’s allies mentioned, however was handed over for Dr. Nesheiwat. A few of Kennedy’s allies mentioned they believed Nesheiwat’s appearances on Fox Information and ties to former nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz, who’s married to Nesheiwat’s sister Julia, performed a task within the president’s determination.
Nesheiwat’s nomination was withdrawn Wednesday amid considerations about how she portrayed her credentials. For instance, as CBS Information beforehand reported, she has publicly listed an M.D. from the College of Arkansas College of Medication, however she truly received her medical diploma from the American College of the Caribbean.
