Senate Begins Confirmation Hearing for Surgeon General Nominee Casey Means
The Senate Health Committee is holding a confirmation hearing for Dr. Casey Means, President Trump’s second nominee for U.S. surgeon general and a close ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda. Means, who graduated from Stanford School of Medicine in 2014 and began but did not complete a head-and-neck surgery residency, holds an inactive Oregon medical license and is not currently treating patients. She left clinical training to practice 'functional medicine,' co-founded the Levels metabolic-health app, and has built a large online following through her 'Good Energy' newsletter and book, where she sharply criticizes the food and drug industries, calls for an investigation of the childhood vaccine schedule, and includes chapters titled 'Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor.' The article notes she has questioned vaccine requirements and emphasizes lifestyle and metabolic causes of disease, positioning her well outside the traditional public‑health establishment for a role whose statutory job is to provide Americans with the 'best scientific information available.' Her nomination follows the withdrawal of Trump’s first pick, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, over concerns about how Nesheiwat presented her credentials, raising the stakes on how senators vet Means’ experience, scientific positions and potential conflicts from her wellness and app businesses.
📌 Key Facts
- The Senate Health Committee is holding a confirmation hearing for Dr. Casey Means, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general.
- Means is a Stanford‑trained physician whose Oregon medical license has been inactive since 2024; she is not currently practicing and left a surgical residency without completing it.
- She is a prominent wellness influencer, co‑founder of the Levels glucose‑monitoring app, and author of a 'Good Energy' newsletter and book that criticize the food and health‑care industries, promote 'root cause' medicine, and call for re‑examining the childhood vaccine schedule.
- The surgeon general is a four‑year, Senate‑confirmed post described by HHS as the nation’s doctor and oversees roughly 6,000 officers in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
- Trump’s first surgeon general pick in this term, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, withdrew in May 2025 amid questions about how she portrayed her credentials.
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