Wellness influencer picked by Trump for surgeon general faces Senate grilling | Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general, Casey Means, appeared before lawmakers on the Senate health, labor and pensions committee on Wednesday after his first confirmation hearing was delayed in October because he had to go into work hours before he was scheduled to testify.

Means is the president’s controversial choice for the role of the nation’s top doctor responsible for disseminating the latest public health guidance.

Democrats on the committee quickly expressed concerns about Means’ ability to push back against Kennedy’s misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines that public health experts say jeopardizes the well-being of the American people.

“I have very serious questions about Dr. Means’ ability to be the kind of surgeon general this country needs,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, the committee’s ranking member.

Although Means graduated from Stanford School of Medicine, he did not complete his head and neck surgery residency at Oregon Health and Science University, is not board certified, and does not have an active medical license. His scientific experience stems mainly from his work as an influential figure in the field of wellness and the work of Robert F Kennedy Jr. It is focused on a leader in Make America Healthy Again (MaHA), which has become a pillar of the Trump administration’s health policy under his administration.

When Republican senator Bill Cassidy, the committee chairman, pressed him on whether as surgeon general he would encourage parents to vaccinate their children with routine vaccines such as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, Means refused to give a simple yes or no answer.

“I support vaccination. I believe every patient, every mother, every parent should talk to their pediatrician about the medications they are putting into their own bodies and into their children’s bodies,” Means said.

When asked if he would state his position more clearly if confirmed, Cassidy replied: “I am not an individual doctor, and every individual needs to talk to their doctor before putting medication into their body.”

Means’ comments come amid the worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years as measles outbreaks continue across the country and childhood vaccination rates are falling in South Carolina. In response, Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), urged Americans to “please get the vaccine” earlier this month. In an interview with CNN, Oz made a rare call for the Trump administration to insist on vaccination. “Not all diseases are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to these diseases,” he said. “But measles is a disease for which you need to get vaccinated.”

Means insisted that anti-vaccine rhetoric was “never part of” his message and said he was “not here to complicate the issue about vaccines,” while repeatedly ignoring direct questions from lawmakers about whether vaccines cause autism; This theory has long been discredited by the scientific community and was supported by Secretary of Health Kennedy.

“The reality is that we are facing a growing autism crisis, and it is devastating for many families, and as a medical community we don’t know what causes autism,” he said, acknowledging that there is ample evidence disproving claims that vaccines cause the condition. “I also think the science is never settled, and I think it’s important to try to look at broad, cumulative exposures as to what causes autism.”

Means rejected the medical establishment, stating that he left his residency because he was “disillusioned with traditional health care,” which he claimed focused on diagnoses and prescriptions rather than diet and lifestyle.

In his opening statement before lawmakers, he praised Trump and Kennedy for inviting him to “a mature, frank, big conversation about how our medical education and correcting perverse incentives can pull us back from the brink.”

In 2024, Means co-authored a book called Good Energy with his older brother Calley. entrepreneur He currently serves as one of Kennedy’s close advisors and also opposes the US medical establishment. In their book, the brothers argue that metabolic health is the key to reversing chronic diseases; critics say this framework verges on pseudoscience. “Too many doctors are doing the wrong things, taking an overly aggressive stance on diet and behavior, pushing pills and interventions when they would do so much more for the patient in front of them,” Means writes in the book.

The would-be surgeon also co-founded Levels, a health tracking company built on continuous glucose monitoring, as part of his belief that people need real-time data to understand what’s causing their symptoms.

In the past, Means has been underrated when it comes to the effectiveness of vaccines; It was in line with Kennedy’s routine skepticism about the number of vaccines recommended for children.

“I also find it confusing that people feel embarrassed for asking about the more than 70 injectable drugs that enter their children’s bodies before the age of 18.” he wrote on his site. “I’m not making a statement about the efficacy of vaccines; I’m making a statement about an $80 billion industry having legal immunity from wrongdoing and keeping the American population under pressure that forces them to comply with the entire program or face the consequences.”

Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced it would lower routine childhood vaccination recommendations from 17 shots to 11 shots; Public health experts said the move would undermine confidence in vaccines and lead to the spread of infectious diseases.

Means’ candidacy was accepted significant reaction From the US scientific community. Former surgeon general Richard Carmona, who served under George W Bush, told the Guardian that Means’ candidacy was a “disgrace” for the future of America’s public health system. “No significant public health experience. No scalable leadership experience,” he said.

Under Kennedy’s leadership, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been beset by chaos. Grants were terminated, there was a mass exodus of officials from key institutions, and anti-vaccine stalwarts were appointed to the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP). Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who cast the deciding vote last year to appoint Kennedy as Trump’s health secretary, did so despite voicing concerns about Kennedy’s anti-vaccine record. Kennedy assured him that he would not interfere with the structure of ACIP during the approval process. He has since reversed course, reshaping the department and shutting down the careers of public health experts.

Last year, Susan Monarez, the Senate-confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was fired less than a month after starting the job. He told health committee senators in September that Kennedy had been removed from the CDC because of his unwillingness to go along with the vaccine agenda. There was even more turnover at the CDC this month when Monarez’s replacement, Jim O’Neill, left the agency. Ralph Abraham, the number two deputy chief director, resigned from his position this week.

Means is Trump’s running mate for the surgeon general position. Last year Dr. He nominated Janette Nesheiwat but withdrew her name before her Senate confirmation hearing amid criticism from both the right and the right. reports misleading medical credentials.

Carmona said optimism that lawmakers would push back against Means’ credentials has “muted.”

“We see too much ideology and not enough science,” he said. “You’re putting an uneducated person in this situation at a time when we probably need a real leader more than ever because of the misinformation and disinformation floating around.”