Trump’s surgeon general pick dodges vaccine questions and scrutiny
The surgeon general’s job isn’t to “both sides” or "just asking questions" settled science. It’s to tell Americans clearly what keeps them alive.
Convicted felon Donald Trump has picked a wellness influencer to serve as his Surgeon General.
Dr. Casey Means struggled with questions regarding vaccines, birth control, and potential financial conflicts during her Senate confirmation hearing, but echoed RFK Jr and his MAHA misguidedness.
Her nomination has faced considerable pushback from the medical and public health establishment, in part because she lacks the clinical experience of past surgeons general.
“She is less qualified professionally than any other surgeon general in history. There’s no question about that,” says Dr. Georges Benjamin, CEO of the American Public Health Association.
Means graduated from Stanford Medical School, but dropped out of surgical training to become a head and neck surgeon. She went on to open a functional medicine practice in Oregon, though she stopped seeing patients a few years ago and doesn’t currently have an active medical license.
She sidestepped questions about vaccines and autism, and focused on nutrition and “root causes” of public health issues. The surgeon general is the United States most visible source of information on public health. Today, we are faced with rising measles cases and a declining trust in our health institutions, as the President, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and their friends like Dr. Oz undermine decades of science. Dr. Casey Means appears to be a source of carefully hedged answers and not clear guidance.
The surgeon general’s job isn’t to “both sides” or “just asking questions” settled science. It’s to tell Americans clearly what keeps them alive.