Wellness influencer picked by Trump for surgeon general faces Senate grilling
The Guardian • • nation
Key Points:
- Casey Means, nominated by Donald Trump for U.S. surgeon general, will face Senate health committee questions after her initial hearing was postponed due to childbirth; she is a controversial pick with a background as a wellness influencer rather than traditional medical credentials.
- Means lacks board certification and an active medical license, having left her surgical residency due to dissatisfaction with conventional healthcare, and aligns with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-establishment health views, including skepticism about childhood vaccine schedules.
- Critics, including former surgeon general Richard Carmona, denounce Means's nomination as lacking public health leadership and scientific rigor, warning it undermines America's public health system amid ongoing turmoil in the Department of Health and Human Services under Kennedy's leadership.
- The Senate
