In a series of social media posts Thursday, President Trump withdrew his nomination of Make America Health Again influencer Casey Means to be surgeon general, lashed out at Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) over Means’ stalled Senate nomination and then announced a new candidate: Nicole B. Saphier, a breast radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a Fox News contributor and the founder of an herbal supplement company that has questioned the vaccines.
Trump’s abandonment of the Media is no surprise. The nomination of the doctor trained at Stanford University has been stalled in the Senate since her February confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), which Cassidy chairs. Later, it became clear that several Republican lawmakers, including Cassidy, had reservations about his nomination.
Doubts about the media
Specifically, concerns centered on their opinions and ratings of vaccines. Although she has a medical degree, she abandoned her medical residency and does not have an active license, meaning that if confirmed, she would serve as the country’s top doctor without being able to practice medicine. During his hearing, he largely tried to dodge questions about vaccines, avoiding explicitly recommending life-saving shots or contradicting the views of anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Since abandoning her medical career, Means has built a lucrative wellness career, becoming a prominent influencer among Kennedy’s MAHA movement. As such, he has sold diagnostic tests, herbal remedies, various wellness products, teas, supplements and “elixirs”, while providing dubious health advice. in the book good energywhich she co-authored with her brother and which some consider the “MAHA Bible,” there is a chapter titled “Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor.”
In a post about Means’ failed nomination, Trump criticized Cassidy, calling him “a very disloyal person” who “stood in the way of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nominee, Casey Means.” He then clarified: “I appointed Casey, a strong MAHA warrior, on the recommendation of Secretary Kennedy, who understands the MAHA Movement better than anyone, perhaps with the possible exception of ME!” Trump ended by thanking Means and saying he would continue to fight for MAHA.
