By SEUNG MIN KIM
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is tapping Casey Means, a wellness influencer with close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as his nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his initial pick for the influential health post.
Trump said in a social media post Thursday that Means has “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials” – referring to the “ Make America Healthy Again ” slogan – and that she will work to eradicate chronic disease and improve the health and well-being of Americans.
“Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding,” Trump said. “Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History.”
In doing so, Trump withdrew former Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat for U.S. surgeon general, marking at least the second health-related pick from Trump to be pulled from Senate consideration.
The withdrawal was confirmed by two people familiar with the matter. Nesheiwat had been scheduled to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Thursday for her confirmation hearing. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm a decision not yet made public.
Nesheiwat is a medical director for an urgent care company in New York and has appeared regularly on Fox News to offer medical expertise and insights. She is a vocal supporter of Trump and shares photos of them together on social media. Nesheiwat is also the sister-in-law of former national security adviser Mike Waltz, who has been nominated to be Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.
But she has recently come under criticism from Laura Loomer, a far-right ally of Trump who was instrumental in ousting several members of the president’s National Security Council. Loomer posted on X earlier this week that “we can’t have a pro-COVID vaccine nepo appointee who is currently embroiled in a medical malpractice case and who didn’t go to medical school in the US” as the surgeon general.
CBS News reported last week that Nesheiwat earned her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten, despite saying that she has a degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine.
The surgeon general, considered the nation’s doctor, oversees 6,000 U.S. Public Health Service Corps members and can issue advisories that warn of public health threats.
In March, the White House pulled from consideration the nomination of former Florida GOP Rep. Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His skepticism on vaccines had raised concerns from key Republican senators, and he withdrew after being told by the White House that he did not have enough support to be confirmed.
The withdrawal was first reported by Bloomberg News.