A top official within the Department of Health and Human Services said that Surgeon General nominee Dr. Casey Means is the best candidate for the role, despite criticisms from both sides of the aisle that threaten her Senate confirmation.
Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brian Christine, who would be the superior officer to Means at HHS should she be confirmed, told the Washington Examiner in an interview that she is “the right person for Surgeon General at this time.”
“The main function of the Surgeon General is a communication role,” Christine said. “I think there’s no one better in this country to communicate effectively to the American people about the epidemic of chronic disease, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.”
Means, who was President Donald Trump’s second nominee for the position, earned her medical degree at Stanford University and has held several academic appointments, but she did not complete her surgical residency program.
Instead, Means established herself as a health and wellness influencer, cultivating a sizable following on social media and through her newsletter. She and her brother, HHS senior health adviser Calley Means, also co-authored the influential book on nutrition medicine Good Energy.
Means has received criticism from mainstream public health officials and experts for her influencer career, including Trump’s first-term surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams.
But Christine, who practiced urology for 30 years before joining HHS late last year, told the Washington Examiner that Means used her medical degree to help people become healthy in a different way, outside of clinical practice, and instead as a health influencer.
“She chose to practice medicine in a different way as opposed to that direct patient care,” Christine said. “She took a different route where she’s able to influence and help so many patients.”
The Assistant Secretary for Health, a four-star admiral, oversees the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a uniformed health branch of health officers. Whoever takes the post of surgeon general is awarded the rank of third-star admiral and reports directly to the assistant secretary.
Christine said he and Means would work closely together and that her background in health communication and influencing would be a strong complement to his years in clinical practice.
“I had a little different way that I practice medicine than she does, but we’re complementary to each other,” Christine said. “I think we’re going to be a powerful team.”
Centrist Republicans on the Senate’s health committee have been accused of slow-walking Means’s committee confirmation vote, preventing her nomination from reaching the full Senate.
Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) pressed Means on vaccines and the abortion pill mifepristone during her confirmation hearing in late February, but he has been silent on how he intends to vote.
Cassidy’s primary challenger for Senate on May 16, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), posted on X on Wednesday that Cassidy’s handling of Means’s nomination is evidence that he does not support Trump’s agenda to Make America Healthy Again.
“If Senator Cassidy truly supports President Trump’s agenda, he should move this nomination forward and make his position clear. Instead, he is stalling,” Letlow said.
Other MAHA advocates, including the Super PAC MAHA Action, have been increasing the pressure on Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to support Means’s confirmation.
Activist Vani Hari, known as “the food babe” on social media, called Means’ confirmation “a chance of a lifetime” in a post with the Capitol phone numbers for Murkowski and Collins.
Both Collins and Murkowski have been skeptical of other Trump public health nominees, particularly over their stances on vaccines. Murkowski, in particular, pressed Means in her confirmation hearing on newborn Hepatitis B vaccinations, which the senator said were essential to public health in her state of Alaska.
Trump’s surgeon general nominee has also received pushback from religious conservatives for some of her more unorthodox views, practices, and health recommendations.
Earlier this month, conservative radio show host Erik Erickson chided Christians for supporting Means in a religious publication, calling Means “a near Wiccan speaking spells,” referring to the modern paganist religion Wicca, which worships the Earth’s natural cycles.
Erickson referenced a newsletter from Means in which she described establishing a meditation shrine to worship her ancestors, “talked (literally out loud) to the trees” asking them for guidance in her romantic life, “did full moon ceremonies,” and “did plant medicine experiences with trusted guides.”
“Means has engaged in occult practices to connect outside this present reality,” Erickson said, citing New Testament scripture warning Christians to avoid “the spiritual forces of evil.”
THE ‘WOO-WOO’ PHILOSOPHY OF TRUMP’S SURGEON GENERAL PICK
When previously asked about Means’s more heterodox writings, an HHS spokesperson said Means’s experience will help her in her role as Surgeon General.
“Her credentials, research background, and experience in public life give her the right insights to be the surgeon general who helps make sure America never again becomes the sickest nation on earth,” said the HHS spokesperson.
