Donald Trump has chosen wellness influencer Dr Casey Means as his nominee for surgeon general.
The US president said the former physician has “impeccable MAHA [Make America Healthy Again] credentials”.
She would be working with Mr Trump’s controversial health chief Robert F Kennedy Jr, with whom she already has close ties.
Dr Means has replaced Dr Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor, as Mr Trump’s nominee after questions were raised by right-wing activist Laura Loomer on social media.
But who is Dr Means, what are her beliefs – and what does a surgeon general do?
From physician to app founder
Dr Means, 37, has undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University, and has held research positions at the National Institutes of Health, New York University, and Oregon Health and Science University.
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But she dropped out of her surgical residency programme, saying she became disillusioned with traditional medicine, and founded a health tech company, Levels, that has an app which helps users track blood sugar and other metrics.
She also promotes dietary supplements, creams, teas and other products on her social media accounts.
Alongside her brother, former lobbyist Calley Means, Dr Means co-authored a book last year called Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.
While she has no government experience, both Dr Means and her brother served as key advisers to Mr Kennedy’s longshot 2024 presidential bid and helped broker his eventual endorsement of Mr Trump.
Calley Means was also recently appointed as a White House adviser to work on the MAHA campaign.
Announcing Dr Means as his surgeon general nominee, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding.
“Dr Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History. Congratulations to Casey!”
What are her beliefs?
Her online following has largely been built by criticising the medical establishment and promoting natural foods and lifestyle changes to reverse obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
She has mainly steered clear of Mr Kennedy’s controversial and debunked views on vaccines, though she has called for more investigation into their safety and recommended making it easier for patients to sue drugmakers in the event of vaccine injuries.
In a podcast appearance with Tucker Carlson – which now has over 3.7 million views on YouTube – Dr Means also questioned the necessity of vaccinating infants according to the schedule recommended by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, specifically against hepatitis B, which she said was “emblematic of how we are put on the pharma treadmill from the moment we are born in this country, for reasons that are very strange”.
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She is also a proponent of metabolic health, when your body processes food in a way that keeps your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and weight within healthy ranges.
In interviews and articles, Dr Means, along with her brother, has outlined a significant number of influences to blame for common health problems in the US, including “corrupt” food conglomerates that have hooked Americans on unhealthy diets, leaving them reliant on daily medications from the pharmaceutical industry to manage obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions.
“Almost every chronic health symptom that Western medicine addresses is the result of our cells being beleaguered by how we’ve come to live,” they write in their book.
What does the surgeon general do?
The surgeon general, considered the nation’s doctor, oversees 6,000 US Public Health Service Corps (USPHS) members and can issue advisories that warn of public health threats.
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Their role is to provide citizens with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury, and lead the USPHS’s official mission “to protect, promote and advance the health” of the nation.
As part of Mr Trump’s unorthadox administration, Dr Means would be tasked with helping promote Mr Kennedy’s sprawling agenda, which calls for removing thousands of additives and chemicals from US foods, rooting out conflicts of interest at federal agencies and incentivising healthier foods in school lunches and other nutrition programmes.
Dr Means will face a confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee.
