Dr. Casey Means will appear before the Senate on Wednesday in a long-awaited hearing to discuss his highly scrutinized nomination as surgeon general.
Means, a prominent health advocate, was a campaign adviser under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running for president and architect of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. His brother, Calley Means, is Kennedy’s partner and senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services.
If the role is confirmed, Means will be a broker among general surgeons: He does not have an active medical license (his license expired in January 2024) and he did not complete his medical residency (he graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine but left the surgical program at Oregon Health and Science University in 2018, a few months before he finished it).
Because of this, many medical experts have questioned whether Means is qualified to be America’s top doctor with the authority to issue health warnings and advisories for the entire country.
Means did not respond to a request for comment before the hearing. Emily Hilliard, HHS spokeswoman, said Means’ “information, research background, and experience in public life give him the right understanding to be a surgeon who helps ensure that America is no longer the sickest country on Earth.”
President Donald Trump nominated Means for surgeon general in May on Kennedy’s recommendation after withdrawing his previous choice, former Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.
Means’ confirmation hearing – originally scheduled for October – was postponed after she miscarried with her first child. His nomination then expired, so Trump renominated him on January 13.
In his new role, he will also oversee the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a government agency whose officers include doctors, nurses, scientists and engineers. The branch requires its officers to maintain valid licenses in their fields.
Means could face tough questions Wednesday from Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee about his meeting with Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist who is now health and human services secretary.
The confirmation hearing comes amid increasing scrutiny of Kennedy’s leadership from Democrats and some Republican lawmakers. In his first year in office, Kennedy fired top health officials, overhauled the childhood immunization program, downplayed the role of vaccination during an unprecedented measles outbreak and cut funding for key research areas such as the mRNA gun.
Like Kennedy, Means has gained popularity in health circles because of his messages about the big impact on companies in the food and herbal industries. He has expressed skepticism about traditional medicine, writing on his website that hormonal birth control has “horrendous health risks” and that the “total burden” of the vaccine program — before Kennedy reformed it — “causes a decline in the health of vulnerable children.” (Neither claim is supported by scientific evidence. Common pictures of children are supported by decades of safety data, and serious complications from hormonal birth control are rare.)
Before his appointment, Means was selling nutritional supplements, teas and other wellness products on social media — a topic that has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. A review from Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, determined that Means did not consistently disclose that he would receive a profit or benefit from the sale of certain products.
The group also raised questions about whether Means would benefit from Kennedy’s endorsement of wearables, as he co-founded Levels, a company that helps people track their blood sugar through a wearable monitor and app.
Means signed a code of conduct in September saying he would step down from his consulting position at Levels and stop writing for social media platforms to make money. He also agreed to stop producing his newsletter and promoting the 2024 book he co-wrote, “Good Energy.”
The book says people can “improve and extend their lives” with “simple principles that doctors teach in medical school” – namely healthy eating, more sleep and exercise, and understanding one’s underlying disease risk.
