Trump Says RFK Jr. Recommended New Surgeon General Nominee

The president said that Dr. Casey Means is a ‘brilliant woman.’

Dr. Casey Means attends a confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the secretary of Health and Human Services post, at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 29, 2025. Ben Curtis/AP Photo

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommended that President Donald Trump nominate Dr. Casey Means as his surgeon general, the president said on May 8.

When asked why he nominated Means to the position, Trump told reporters at the White House that it was “because Bobby thought she was fantastic.”

He added later: “I don’t know her. I listened to the recommendation of Bobby.”

Means is a graduate of Stanford University Medical School. After dropping out of a surgeon residency, she founded Levels, an application designed to help Americans make better diet and lifestyle choices.

Trump, a day prior, said he was withdrawing his previous choice, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, who is shifting to become the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

He said in a social media post that Means “has impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” referring to the Make America Healthy Again movement, and would work closely with Kennedy “to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans.”

The choice of Means has drawn criticism from some, including for her not holding an active medical license. Means “is no longer seeing patients,” her website states.

“Turns out you can be a social media influencer and become Surgeon General,” Laura Loomer, an activist who recently met with Trump, wrote on social media platform X.

Trump told reporters that Means “is a brilliant woman who went through Stanford—and as I understand it, she wanted to be an academic as opposed to a surgeon.”

Means has not directly responded to her critics, but on X, she shared a number of posts that came to her defense, including several from Kennedy.

“The attacks that Casey is unqualified because she left the medical system completely miss the point of what we are trying to accomplish with MAHA,” the health secretary wrote in one post. “Casey is the perfect choice for Surgeon General precisely because she left the traditional medical system—not in spite of it. Her leadership has inspired many doctors to reform the system and forge a new path away from sick care, which fills corporate coffers, and toward health care, which enriches all of us.”

Means has regularly expressed support for Kennedy’s agenda, which includes removing chemicals from the food supply and placing more emphasis on drug safety. Her brother, Calley Means, who co-authored a book with her, is a special government employee who advises the Department of Health and Human Services.

The position of surgeon general requires Senate confirmation. It’s not clear yet when the chamber will vote on the nomination. Nesheiwat had been slated for a confirmation hearing this week before her nomination was withdrawn.