Topline
President Donald Trump on Wednesday rescinded Dr. Janette Nesheiwat’s nomination for surgeon general, selecting health entrepreneur and former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. adviser Dr. Casey Means as his new nominee for the position, just one day before Nesheiwat’s confirmation hearing was scheduled.
Key Facts
Trump announced in a Truth Social post Nesheiwat will instead work with Health Kennedy “in another capacity.”
Trump said Means, a physician and health influencer, will be nominated as the next surgeon general, saying she has “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” a reference to the “Make America Healthy Again” movement led by Kennedy.
The 37-year-old physician worked as an adviser to Kennedy’s presidential campaign alongside her brother, former pharmaceutical consultant and White House adviser Calley Means, who has pushed for “Make America Healthy Again” goals including the removal of fluoride from water.
Casey Means has made appearances on the Tucker Carlson Show and Joe Rogan’s podcast and published a book promoting the idea that improving metabolic health in Americans can reduce poor health outcomes.
Means has also been a critic of big food companies and the pharmaceutical industry, though she has mostly avoided aligning herself with Kennedy’s conspiracy theories about vaccines, according to The Washington Post, which noted she has called for investigations into vaccine safety.
Means has a medical degree from Stanford Medical School and is the CEO and co-founder of healthcare technology firm Levels Health, which provides wearable technology used to measure patients’ real-time blood sugar levels.
Means also brings in income from dietary supplements, creams and teas she sponsors on her social media accounts, the Post reported.
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Tangent
Nesheiwat is the latest health nominee to lose her selection, with Dave Weldon, Trump’s former nominee to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, having his Senate hearing abruptly canceled after some senators scrutinized his stance on childhood vaccination schedules, Bloomberg reported.
Key Background
Nesheiwat’s confirmation hearing with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was scheduled for Thursday. Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor, was recently scrutinized over her professional and educational credentials, according to CBS News, which found Nesheiwat, who claimed she had a degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, actually earned her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. A University of Arkansas spokesperson told CBS News that Nesheiwat used its family medicine program to complete her residency, but did not earn a degree from the university. The physician has been supportive of the COVID-19 vaccine, which could have potentially ran counter to Kennedy, who has pushed conspiracy theories connecting vaccines to autism and other medical conditions. In an autobiographical book published last year, “Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine,” Nesheiwat said “Leading to increased vaccine hesitancy has been the proliferation of poorly researched studies purporting to link vaccines to autism and other problems,” according to CBS.
Further Reading
Trump’s surgeon general nominee, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, faces scrutiny over credentials (CBS News)
Donald Trump taps wellness influencer close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon general (Washington Post)
