Casey Means, Trump’s new pick for Surgeon General, draws wide criticism

President Trump’s choice of Casey Means to be the next surgeon general is generating plenty of criticism.

Means, a wellness influencer, is a medical doctor with a degree from Stanford Medical School, but she dropped out of her surgical residency, saying she became disillusioned with traditional medicine. On her website, Means said she left the healthcare system to focus on “how to keep people out of the operating room.”

Critics note she’s not a practicing physician and hasn’t run a government health agency or organization. The post requires Senate confirmation.

Trump chose Means after withdrawing his initial choice, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, who was slated to face a Senate confirmation hearing this week. Trump pulled the nomination over concerns she wouldn’t win Senate approval and questions about her academic credentials, the Associated Press reports.

Means has been an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the secretary of the U.S. Health & Human Services Department. She is the co-founder of Levels, a health tech company that touts the ability to let people “see how food impacts your health with AI-powered food logging.” Means and her brother, Calley Means, wrote a book entitled, “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection between Metabolism and Limitless Health.”

Responding to criticism of Means’ lack of credentials, Kennedy denounced what he called “absurd attacks” and said her unconventional background is why she is the perfect choice.“Casey articulates better than any American the North Star of a country where we have eliminated diabetes, heart disease, and obesity through prioritizing metabolic health,” Kennedy wrote on X. “Casey will help me ensure American children will be less medicated and better fed--and significantly healthier--during the next four years. She will be the best Surgeon General in American history.”

Fielding questions about Means in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that he didn’t know Means but said Kennedy “thought she was fantastic. She’s a brilliant woman. … She wanted to be an academic as opposed to a surgeon.”

“I listened to the recommendation of Bobby …. I think she’ll be great,” Trump said.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Means brings “impeccable

‘MAHA’ credentials,” referring to the Make America Healthy Again movement Kennedy has championed.

Andrea C. Love, executive director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation, blasted the choice of Means. In a post on X, Love called her a “grifter” and wrote, “She doesn’t know basic science, yet claims she’s a metabolism expert.”

The surgeon general oversees the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a group of over 6,000 officers who are public health professionals.

Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general under Trump during his first term, said in a post on X that he has fielded numerous questions about the qualifications for the post. Adams noted that the corps plays a key role in public health emergencies and advancing health equity and scientific research, and notes the surgeon general is historically a licensed physician.

He also notes that by statute, the surgeon general is a member of the USPHS Corps, and has “specialized training or significant experience in public health programs.” Adams noted that he was a practicing doctor with a masters degree in public health and had led the Indiana Department of Health for four years.

Richard Hanania, president of The Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, wrote on X that Means “will do serious damage to public health.”

“She has no academic achievements to speak of,” Hanania wrote. “All she did was med school and she dropped out before completing her residency. This is weird, as anyone in medicine will tell you.”

While many of Trump’s supporters cheered the selection of Means, Nicole Shanahan, a former running mate of Kennedy when he ran for president, said she was puzzled by the pick.

Shanahan wrote on X that the choice of Means was “very strange. Doesn't make any sense.”

She added that Kennedy had pledged to her that neither Means nore her brother would be working at the health department or in an appointment.

While most of Trump’s picks for key positions in his administration have won Senate confirmation, this is the second time the president has pulled a nominee for a top federal health position. The White House pulled the nomination of Dave Weldon, MD, to be CDC director in March when it appeared he didn’t have enough support in the Senate.

Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, told The Washington Post that Nesheiwat would have been an effective voice on vaccines.

“She was sincere and someone really positive about vaccines and immunization and would have been good at carrying that message,” Hotez told the Post. “Finally you get someone who’s done her best to defend vaccines, and she’s the odd person out.”