Trump pulls Casey Means as surgeon general nominee

Saphier is Trump's third nominee for surgeon general. He initially nominated Janette Nesheiwat, a medical doctor and Fox News contributor, for the position but withdrew her nomination after several conservative figures, including far-right activist Laura Loomer, spoke out against Nesheiwat for comments she previously made online supporting COVID-19 vaccines and masking during the pandemic.

Trump then nominated Means, a former Stanford Medical School-trained doctor who dropped out of her residency because she was concerned by what she described as a lack of training on the root causes of illness. She then became a functional medicine doctor and started Levels, a health technology company where she is listed as CMO. Means' brother, Calley Means, currently serves as an advisor to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Means testified before the Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee in February after the hearing was delayed when Means went into labor last year. During the hearing, senators questioned Means on a variety of health topics, including vaccines, birth control, and pesticides.

The hearing drew into question whether Means' nomination would make it out of the HELP committee. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said they were unsure if they'd vote to confirm Means following her testimony.

On April 16, Kennedy spoke before the House Appropriations Committee and made a plea to move Means' nomination forward, saying that Means is "the most articulate, eloquent, and erudite evangelist of the [Make America Healthy Again] movement."

In a post on Truth Social, Trump alluded to Means' confirmation troubles, saying that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who chairs the HELP committee and had not publicly stated a position on Means, "stood in the way of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Nominee, Casey Means, for the important position of U.S. Surgeon General," adding that he hoped "all of the Great Republican People of Louisiana, which I won, BIG, three times, will be voting Bill Cassidy OUT OF OFFICE in the upcoming Republican Primary!"

Saphier was among several high-profile figures who claimed in 2022 that CDC would mandate schoolchildren receive a COVID-19 vaccine, a prediction that was incorrect, as CDC cannot mandate that schoolchildren receive vaccines, as that decision is left up to states and jurisdictions.

Saphier has also previously said that the overwhelming majority of "good research" disputes the idea that vaccines are linked to autism, though she has expressed an openness to changing the childhood vaccine schedule.

She also said on a recent episode of her podcast that while she has concerns about vaccine mandates, she was uncertain about the recent decision of Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to drop a mandatory flu vaccine policy for troops.

As for Means, Trump said that she will "continue to fight for MAHA on the many important Health issues facing our Country, such as the rising childhood disease epidemic, increased autism rates, poor nutrition, over-medicalization, and researching the root causes of infertility, and many other difficult medical problems."