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.
Trump has nominated Casey Means, a 38-year-old Make America Healthy Again mom who dropped out of her surgical residency and has never held a full medical license, 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.
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 Journal that Means would be a “key asset” for Trump’s MAHA agenda, and that the White House was “engaging and continues to robustly engage 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 but has never been qualified to independently practice medicine.
After graduation, she enrolled in a residency program at Oregon Health and Science University with the goal of becoming an ear, nose, and throat surgeon.
She never completed the program, though, and later said it was because she had become disillusioned with the American medical system.
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.
During her residency, Means held an MD Postgraduate License, which only allows physicians to work under supervision as part of an accredited training program, according to the Oregon Medical Board.
That license expired in 2019.
