President Donald Trump has chosen Dr. Casey Means to be the new surgeon general. Dr. Means was a doctor but now focuses on wellness and has strong connections to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the Health and Human Services Secretary. This decision comes after Trump withdrew his first choice for this important health job.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump stated that Means possesses "impeccable 'MAHA' credentials," referencing the slogan "Make America Healthy Again," and that her focus will be on the eradication of chronic disease and the enhancement of Americans' health and well-being.

"Her academic achievements and her life's work are truly outstanding," Trump said. "Dr. Casey Means could be one of the best Surgeon Generals in United States History."

Trump's decision meant withdrawing Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News medical contributor, from consideration for the position, making her at least the second health-related nominee put forward by Trump to be removed from Senate consideration. Nesheiwat was scheduled to attend her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday.

Means and her brother, former lobbyist Calley Means, were important advisers for Kennedy's unlikely 2024 presidential campaign and helped him endorse Trump last summer. They appeared with some of Trump's biggest supporters and were praised by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and podcaster Joe Rogan. Calley Means is now a White House adviser who is often on television talking about limiting SNAP benefits, taking fluoride out of drinking water, and other things on the MAHA agenda.

Casey Means lacks governmental experience and left her surgical residency, expressing disillusionment with conventional medicine. She established Levels, a health tech company that facilitates user tracking of blood sugar and various metrics. Furthermore, she generates income by promoting dietary supplements, creams, teas, and similar items on her social media profiles.

In interviews and articles, Means and her brother identify a complex network of factors responsible for the country’s health issues, notably including unethical food companies that have addicted Americans to unhealthy diets, necessitating daily pharmaceutical interventions to control obesity, diabetes, and other chronic ailments.

While many health experts agree that the American diet, which has a lot of processed foods, contributes to obesity and related problems, Means suggests a broader link. He connects changes in diet and lifestyle to many conditions like infertility, Alzheimer's, depression, and erectile dysfunction.

"Nearly all chronic health symptoms treated by Western medicine stem from our cells being overwhelmed by contemporary lifestyles," Means asserted in a 2024 book she co-authored with her brother.

Means has largely avoided aligning herself with Kennedy's contentious and discredited opinions regarding vaccines, though her website advocates for enhanced scrutiny of vaccine safety and proposes simplifying the process for patients to pursue legal action against pharmaceutical companies for vaccine-related injuries.

She trained as a surgeon at Stanford University, but she has become popular online by criticizing the medical system and suggesting natural foods and lifestyle changes to help people with obesity, diabetes, and other long-term illnesses.

If confirmed as surgeon general, Means would be assigned the role of supporting Kennedy’s extensive MAHA agenda, which advocates for the elimination of numerous additives and chemicals from U.S. food, the eradication of conflicts of interest within federal agencies, and the promotion of healthier food options in school meals and other nutritional schemes.

Nesheiwat, initially chosen by Trump, serves as a medical director for a New York-based urgent care firm and has frequently featured on Fox News, providing medical expertise and perspectives. She is a fervent advocate for Trump, publicly displaying photographs of them on social media. Additionally, Nesheiwat is related by marriage to former national security advisor Mike Waltz, who has been proposed as Trump’s representative to the United Nations.

However, she had recently become a target of criticism from Laura Loomer, a far-right associate of Trump who played a key role in the removal of several individuals from the president’s National Security Council. Loomer stated on X earlier this week that the position of surgeon general should not be held by a "pro-COVID vaccine nepo appointee who is presently involved in a medical malpractice lawsuit and who did not attend medical school in the US."

Last month, independent journalist Anthony Clark reported that Nesheiwat said she had a medical degree from the University of Arkansas, but she actually got it from the American University of the Caribbean in St. Maarten. A source who knows about the situation said the White House stopped Nesheiwat's nomination because they were not sure she would be approved.

"I am eager to continue backing President Trump and collaborating closely with Secretary Kennedy in a significant policy capacity to revitalize America's health," Nesheiwat communicated on social media Wednesday.

The Surgeon General, regarded as the nation's principal physician, heads a body of six thousand members within the U.S. Public Health Service Corps and has the authority to issue recommendations cautioning against public health hazards.

In March, the White House withdrew the proposed appointment of former Florida Republican Representative Dave Weldon to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.