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RFK Jr.’s Bid for Quack Surgeon General Pick Flatlines

President Donald Trump’s nomination of MAHA mom Casey Means is in trouble.

A MAHA influencer tapped by Robert F. Kennedy and President Donald Trump to serve as America’s top doctor is struggling to secure enough Republican support for her nomination to advance.

MAHA HA!

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Trump has nominated Casey Means, a 38-year-old Make America Healthy Again mom and former physician, to serve as Surgeon General.

With Democrats opposing her nomination, Means needs the backing of every single Republican in order for the nomination to advance out of committee.

So far, though, she doesn’t have the GOP committee members’ full backing, leaving no clear path to confirmation, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The committee members grilled Means in late February during an at times contentious confirmation hearing that covered her views on vaccines, her relative lack of clinical experience, and potential conflicts of interest from her influencer work.

Several Republicans sounded skeptical during the hearing, during which Means refused to commit to recommending that parents vaccine their children against measles and the flu, and said the science wasn’t “settled” on whether vaccines cause autism.

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More than a dozen rigorous, large-scale studies have found there is no link between vaccines and autism, according to Johns Hopkins University.

After the hearing, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine told reporters they had still had questions.

Nearly a month later, Murkowski told reporters Tuesday she was still “in the same spot” when it came to those hesitations, CNN reported.

Collins and committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have also refused to publicly back Means’ nomination.

Asked by the Wall Street Journal whether Means had the votes to clear his committee, Cassidy said, “I just have nothing to say on that right now.”

The White House hasn’t officially dropped the nomination, though, because Kennedy and other MAHA members are still advocating for her, sources told the Journal.

A White House official said the administration still thinks the skeptical Republicans can be convinced to back Means.

White House Spokesperson Kush Dusai told the Daily Beast in a statement: “Dr. Casey Means’s elite academic credentials, research background, and advocacy on America’s chronic disease epidemic will make her a critical asset for President Trump’s push to Make America Healthy Again.”

He said the White House “continues to have productive conversations with the Senate” to advance her nomination.

Kennedy spokesperson Andrew Nixon said Means has “given voice to MAHA moms and has communicated a vital public health message that people voted for.”

The Daily Beast has also reached out for comment.

Means earned her M.D. from Stanford Medicine in 2014 and then enrolled in a residency program at Oregon Health and Science University with the goal of becoming an ear, nose, and throat surgeon.

She left the program after four years without finishing it, saying she had become disillusioned with the American medical system.

She does not hold an active medical license.

TRUST ME

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After dropping out, Means founded an alternative-medicine and wellness-consulting business, according to her website. She also co-founded a biotech company focused on metabolic health.

Editor’s note: This piece has been corrected to reflect that Means held a full M.D. medical license that has since lapsed.

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