Casey Means, the person Donald Trump wants to install as America’s top doctor, appeared before the Senate today. She doesn’t hold an active medical license. She didn’t finish her medical residency.
Her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was every bit as alarming as critics feared.
She built her career selling supplements and wellness products on social media. And if confirmed, she would have the authority to issue health advisories for every person in this country.
Who Is Casey Means?
Casey Means, 38, graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine but left a surgical residency program at Oregon Health and Science University in 2018, just months before completing it. Her medical license lapsed in January 2024.
Since then, she has made a name for herself as a wellness influencer, selling dietary supplements, teas, and other products online while co-authoring a book called “Good Energy” with her brother, Calley Means.
That brother now works as a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — the same Kennedy who recommended Means for the surgeon general role in the first place.
Trump originally nominated a different candidate, former Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, but withdrew that pick after right-wing figures said she wasn’t ideologically aligned enough with the administration.
Trump then nominated Means last May, reportedly without even knowing her personally — acting solely on Kennedy’s recommendation.
What Happened at the Hearing
Senators from both parties pressed Means on her positions regarding vaccines, birth control, and antidepressant use during pregnancy.
The most revealing exchange came when both Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders asked her directly whether vaccines cause autism — a claim Kennedy has repeatedly made and that decades of scientific research have thoroughly debunked.
Means tried to have it both ways. She said vaccines save lives and claimed anti-vaccine rhetoric was never part of her message.
But she refused to rule out vaccines as a contributor to autism, stating that the medical community doesn’t fully understand what causes the condition and that no stones should be left unturned.
This is a well-worn tactic: it sounds reasonable on the surface while quietly lending legitimacy to a debunked conspiracy theory. For the person who would serve as “the nation’s doctor,” that kind of evasion isn’t just disappointing — it’s dangerous.
Sanders was blunt in his assessment, telling the committee he had serious questions about Means’ ability to serve as the kind of surgeon general the country needs.
The Conflicts of Interest
Beyond qualifications, there are serious ethics concerns. A review by Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, found that Means did not consistently disclose when she stood to profit from the products she promoted on social media.
There are also questions about whether she could benefit from Kennedy’s public endorsement of wearable health devices, since she co-founded Levels, a company that sells a glucose-tracking wearable monitor and app.
Means signed an ethics agreement in September stating she would resign from her advisory role at Levels, stop monetized social media posts, and cease promoting her book.
But these are promises made on paper — and this administration has shown little interest in enforcing ethical boundaries.
Why This Matters
The surgeon general isn’t just a figurehead. The role carries real authority — the power to issue public health advisories and warnings that reach hundreds of millions of Americans.
The surgeon general also oversees the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a federal branch whose officers include physicians, nurses, scientists, and engineers.
That corps requires its members to maintain active professional licenses — a standard Means herself cannot meet.
At least two former surgeons general have publicly said Means is not qualified for the job. Former Bush administration surgeon general Dr. Rich Carmona wrote that her professional qualifications raise significant concerns.
Trump’s own first-term surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, pointed out that the role traditionally requires an active medical license.
This nomination doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It comes as Kennedy has spent his first year dismantling public health infrastructure — firing top health officials, overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule, downplaying the importance of vaccinations during a measles outbreak, and slashing funding for critical research including mRNA vaccine development.
Installing Casey Means, a wellness influencer with no active license and a trail of undisclosed financial conflicts, into the role of America’s top doctor isn’t about making America healthy.
It’s about completing the takeover of our public health system by people who have shown, again and again, that ideology matters more to them than science, evidence, or the wellbeing of the American people.
The Senate must reject this nomination.
