WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be surgeon general Wednesday, days after right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer criticized her, and he simultaneously announced a new pick who has close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump confirmed Nesheiwat's withdrawal on Truth Social and praised the forthcoming nominee, Dr. Casey Means, for “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” referring to the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan.
"Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History. Congratulations to Casey! Secretary Kennedy looks forward to working with Dr. Janette Nesheiwat in another capacity at HHS," Trump wrote.
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Trump said Means, if she is confirmed, would work alongside Kennedy to “reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans.”
The surgeon general oversees the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, more than 6,000 uniformed officers who are public health professionals, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Means, who received undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University, has held research positions at the National Institutes of Health, New York University and Oregon Health & Science University.
She is a proponent of metabolic health, when your body processes food in a way that keeps your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and weight within healthy ranges.
Kennedy is a longtime supporter of Means and Calley Means, her brother, whom he characterized as children’s health and chronic disease experts in an interview in August after he ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump.
Calley Means, according to Kennedy, worked on his presidential campaign and had also advised Trump about health policy.
The siblings, co-authors of the self-help health book "Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health," became MAGA darlings and key architects of the offshoot movement now known as Make America Healthy Again.
Casey Means quickly became a fixture in right-wing media. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., cited one of her many media appearances as “the catalyst” for his Capitol Hill roundtable event in September titled “American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion,” which featured Means and Kennedy, who linked chronic illness to “metabolic dysfunction” and criticized seed oils, processed foods, the food pyramid, microplastics and a host of other factors blamed for the poor health of America’s children.
In a podcast appearance with Tucker Carlson — which now has over 3.7 million views on YouTube — Means questioned the necessity of vaccinating infants according to the schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, specifically against hepatitis B, which she said was “emblematic of how we are put on the pharma treadmill from the moment we are born in this country, for reasons that are very strange.”
Nesheiwat is the second nominee for a top health position the White House has pulled a shortly before Senate confirmation hearings.
In March, Trump pulled the nomination of former. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., who had been picked to be director of the CDC. A White House official told NBC News that Weldon’s nomination was pulled because it became clear that he did not have the support necessary for Senate confirmation because of past controversial comments about vaccines.
Nesheiwat's confirmation hearing had been scheduled for Thursday morning before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
She wrote Wednesday evening on X that she is "looking forward to continuing to support President Trump and working closely with Secretary Kennedy in a senior policy role to Make America Healthy Again!"
"My focus continues to be on improving the health and well-being of all Americans, and that mission hasn’t changed," she added.
