President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, is testifying before the Senate on Wednesday, months after her confirmation hearing was delayed by the birth of her child.
Means was originally set to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee in October, but the hearing was postponed when she went into labor.
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If confirmed, Means would serve as the nation’s top doctor, overseeing thousands of U.S. Public Health Service members, including physicians, nurses, scientists and engineers across multiple federal health agencies.
What we know about Means
Means does not currently hold a medical license and has never practiced medicine.
She graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine in 2014 and began a residency in head and neck surgery. She left the program in her fifth year, later saying she was frustrated by what she described as a system focused on procedures rather than root causes of illness.
Means later pursued functional medicine, a holistic approach that examines the root causes of health issues through lifestyle and environmental factors. She now works as a wellness influencer, promotes supplements and holistic health practices, and serves as an adviser to a wellness company. She has said she would step away from those roles if confirmed.
Her stances
Means’ views mirror those of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.She has expressed skepticism about some vaccines, and she has made claims connecting vaccines to autism.
In her best-selling book, she titled one chapter “Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor.”
She has described the U.S. health system as “sick care,” arguing it prioritizes treating disease over preventing it.
Means has called for warning labels on ultraprocessed foods and has emphasized lifestyle changes, including more sleep, sunlight, time outside, exercise, and whole foods, as tools to prevent or reverse chronic illness. According to The New York Times, she’s also argued that the more prescriptions a person takes, the sicker they become.
Means also co-wrote a book with her brother arguing conditions including cancer, infertility, diabetes, and depression can be traced in part to diet, chemical exposure, prescription medications and lifestyle choices.
What people are saying about the nomination
Critics have questioned her qualifications, particularly her lack of a medical license and clinical practice experience.
“Typically, the surgeon general has been viewed as the nation’s top doctor or America’s doctor, but Dr. Means has never practiced medicine, and so that is unusual,” Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told ABC News. “The part that’s not unusual is that the surgeon general’s impact is largely through through influence. Dr. Means is skilled in this regard when it comes to influence.”
Supporters argue her background in wellness and chronic disease prevention makes her a strong communicator.
“She’s not a career bureaucrat. She’s not a pharma spokesperson. She understands biomarkers, lifestyle drivers, environmental impacts, nutrition, how they all connect,” Alex Clark, the host of the popular Turning Point USA wellness podcast “Culture Apothecary,” said, according to The Times.
