Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s choice for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means, who has come under fire from the right and the left following her nomination.
Trump on Thursday announced he was nominating Means, a wellness influencer and author, to serve as surgeon general after withdrawing his initial choice, former Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.
Means, whose brother Calley Means is a top advisor to Kennedy, has come under fire for her lack of experience in public health or medicine, having dropped out of her surgical residency program, and for her skepticism about vaccines.
“The absurd attacks on Casey Means reveal just how far off course our healthcare conversations have veered, and how badly entrenched interests - including Big Food and its industry-funded social media gurus - are terrified of change,” Kennedy wrote on social media.
Kennedy added in his 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.”
Conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who publicly opposed Trump’s initial pick for surgeon general before her withdrawal, also criticized Trump’s decision to nominate Means.
“This is honestly insane,” she wrote on social media Thursday. “I do not believe for one second that Donald Trump made this decision. I refuse to believe it.”
She added in another tweet: “PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PICK FOR US SURGEON GENERAL CASEY MEANS SAID SHE PRAYS TO INANIMATE OBJECTS, COMMUNICATES WITH SPIRIT MEDIUMS, USES SHROOMS AS ‘PLANT MEDICINE’ AND TALKS TO TREES! SHE ALSO DOESN’T EVEN HAVE AN ACTIVE MEDICAL LICENSE.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.