President Donald Trump is reportedly considering Dr. Casey Means, a physician who has become a wellness advocate with strong connections to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as his proposed candidate for surgeon general, having withdrawn his prior choice for the significant health position.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump asserted that Means possesses “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” a reference to the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan, and affirmed her commitment to eliminating chronic illness and enhancing the health and welfare of the American populace.

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

With this decision, Trump stopped considering Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News medical expert, for the job. This was at least the second person Trump had chosen for a health-related position to be removed from Senate review. Nesheiwat was supposed to have a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday to confirm her for the job.

Means and her brother, former lobbyist Calley Means, were important advisors in Kennedy's unlikely 2024 presidential campaign and helped him endorse Trump last summer. The two appeared with some of Trump's biggest supporters, getting praise from conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and podcaster Joe Rogan. Calley Means is currently a White House advisor who is often on television to support limits on SNAP benefits, taking fluoride out of drinking water, and other goals of the MAHA agenda.

Casey Means doesn't have experience in government and left her surgical training program. She said she became unhappy with traditional medicine. She started a health technology company called Levels, which helps people check their blood sugar and other health numbers. She also earns money by promoting dietary supplements, creams, teas, and other items on her social media.

In interviews and articles, Means and her brother say that many things are causing the nation's health problems. They mention powerful food companies that have made Americans eat unhealthy food, which makes them need daily medicine from drug companies to control conditions like obesity, diabetes, and other long-term illnesses.

Few health experts would challenge the assertion that the typical American diet, laden with processed foods, contributes to obesity and associated health issues. However, Means extends this argument, establishing a connection between dietary and lifestyle shifts and a multitude of conditions such as infertility, Alzheimer's, depression, and erectile dysfunction.

Means suggested in a book she wrote with her brother in 2024 that most long-term health problems treated by Western medicine happen because our cells are stressed by the way we live now.

Means has largely avoided associating herself with Kennedy's contentious and discredited views regarding vaccines. However, on her website, she advocates for further scrutiny into vaccine safety and proposes simplifying the process for patients seeking legal recourse against pharmaceutical companies in cases of vaccine-related injuries. Since the late 1980s, federal legislation has protected these corporations from legal accountability, aiming to foster vaccine development without the potential burden of expensive personal injury litigation.

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

If Means is confirmed as surgeon general, he would be responsible for helping to promote Kennedy’s large MAHA plan. This plan wants to remove many additives and chemicals from U.S. foods, get rid of conflicts of interest at federal agencies, and encourage healthier foods in school lunches and other food programs.

Nesheiwat, Trump's initial selection, serves as a medical director for a New York urgent care company and has frequently featured on Fox News to provide medical knowledge and viewpoints. She is an outspoken proponent of Trump, often posting images of them together on social media. Furthermore, Nesheiwat is the sister-in-law of former national security adviser Mike Waltz, who has been put forward as Trump's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations.

However, she had lately faced censure from Laura Loomer, a far-right confidante of Trump who played a key role in the dismissal of several individuals from the president's National Security Council. Earlier this week, Loomer declared on X that the surgeon general position should not be held by "a nepo appointee who supports the COVID vaccine, is presently involved in a medical malpractice lawsuit, and did not attend medical school in the US."

Last month, journalist Anthony Clark reported that Nesheiwat got her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten. This was different from her claim that she had a degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine. A source who knows about the situation and wanted to remain anonymous said the White House withdrew Nesheiwat’s nomination. This was because they were unsure if she would be confirmed.

Nesheiwat wrote on social media Wednesday that she is excited to keep supporting President Trump and work closely with Secretary Kennedy in an important policy job to make America healthy again. She added that her main goal is still to make all Americans healthier and happier, and this goal has not changed.

The nation's foremost public health authority, the surgeon general, is responsible for managing 6,000 U.S. Public Health Service Corps personnel and is empowered to issue advisories alerting the public to potential health hazards.

In March, the White House stopped considering former Florida Republican Representative Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some important Republican senators were worried about his views on vaccines. He withdrew after the White House told him he did not have enough support to be approved.