NEW YORK (AP) — A Senate hearing for President Donald Trump’s chief medical officer, Dr. Casey Means has been postponed because she has gone into labor, a spokesman for the Senate Health Committee said Thursday.
The news came just hours before Means, 38, who was pregnant with her first child, was scheduled to appear virtually with the committee for her confirmation hearing. It was not immediately clear when the hearing would be rescheduled.
“Everyone is happy for Dr. Means and her family,” said Emily Hilliard, deputy press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services. “This is one of the few times in life where it is easy to request a postponement of a Senate hearing.”
Means, a Stanford-trained doctor who rose to popularity as a wellness influencer after becoming disillusioned with customary medicine, was expected to share a vision for ending chronic diseases by addressing their root causes – an idea that aligns with the “Make America Healthy Again” message of her close ally, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The author and entrepreneur was also expected to defend her credibility despite concerns about her qualifications and possible conflicts.
As the nation’s physician, the surgeon general is a leader on public health issues for Americans and health officials. If confirmed, Means will represent an administration that has already transformed the public health landscape by demanding increased control of vaccines, the nation’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs.
Means has no government experience and her medical license is inactive. Although she studied medicine at Stanford University, she dropped out of her surgical residency program at Oregon Health and Science University in 2018. She later cited her belief that the health system was broken and exploitative as the reason for her withdrawal.
Means then turned to alternative approaches to address what she described as widespread metabolic dysfunction caused largely by needy diets and an overabundance of highly processed foods. She is the co-founder of Levels, a nutrition, sleep and exercise tracking app that can also provide users with insights from blood tests and continuous glucose monitors.
Financial disclosures show she made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting health and wellness products, including specialty basil seed supplements, teas and elixirs, probiotic products and a prepared meal delivery service.
An Associated Press investigation found that at times, when recommending these products, she did not disclose that she was or could benefit from the sales.
In an ethics statement, Means said that if she is confirmed to the post by the full Senate, she will resign from her position at Levels and forfeit or divest stock options and shares in the company. She also promised to stop working for Rupa, a specialty lab company for which she had developed an online course. Although she may continue to receive royalties from her book “Good Energy,” she will not promote it, the filing says.
The filing also states that it “will not acquire direct financial interests in any company listed on the Food and Drug Administration’s list of prohibited interests.”
As surgeon general, Means would oversee 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service Corps and could issue alerts warning of threats to public health.
Her job would be to lend a hand advance Kennedy’s sweeping MAHA agenda, which calls for removing thousands of additives and chemicals from U.S. foods, eliminating conflicts of interest at federal agencies and promoting healthier foods in school lunches and other nutrition programs.
She would also be free to employ the office to advocate on issues related to vaccinations – although she would not be involved in developing or implementing vaccination policies. Means has largely steered clear of Kennedy’s controversial and debunked views on vaccines, but she has called for further research into their safety.
President Donald Trump’s first pick for surgeon general, former Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, has had her nomination withdrawn after she faced criticism from the Republican president’s allies.
