Trump withdrew pro-mask Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as his nominee for surgeon general in favor of Dr. Casey Means, who has a record of supporting medical freedom.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) -- President Trump has pulled Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as his nominee for U.S. Surgeon General and replaced her with Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford-educated doctor who has grown in popularity in recent years due to an active social media presence.
Nesheiwat is a long-time medical contributor for Fox News. She came under criticism after Trump announced her as his pick last November after it became known she promoted mask-wearing, vaccines, and social distancing during COVID-19. She was slated to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for her confirmation vote today.
Nesheiwat came under additional scrutiny when a reporter accused her of lying about her academic record last month. It is unclear if her nomination was undone because of the controversy, though pro-Trump provocateur Laura Loomer did attack her on social media this week, adding fuel to the fire.
Trump announced Nesheiwat's withdrawal in an X post. He said that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “looks forward to working with [her] in another capacity” at the department.
Means and her brother Calley – who has been a health adviser for the White House since March 2025 – worked with Kennedy during his campaign for the presidency. Both have been outspoken on MAHA and medical freedom initiatives during their many media appearances.
While leading health advocates have expressed strong support for Means’ appointment, Kennedy’s former running mate, billionaire tech guru Nichole Shanahan, is skeptical about their rapid rise and involvement in the Trump administration.
“I was promised that if I supported RFK Jr. in his Senate confirmation that neither of these siblings would be working under HHS or in an appointment (and that people much more qualified would be),” she said on X.
“I don't know if RFK very clearly lied to me, or what is going on. It has been clear in recent conversations that he is reporting to someone regularly who is controlling his decisions (and it isn't President Trump). With regards to the siblings, there is something very artificial and aggressive about them, almost like they were bred and raised Manchurian assets.”
The aforementioned Loomer has weighed in on the matter as well. On X, she theorized that Kennedy “used Shanahan for her money” and that he has “appointed full throttled Marxists and Trump haters to work under him at HHS.”
For his own part, Kennedy sent well-wishes in a statement.
“The Surgeon General is a symbol of moral authority who stands against the financial and institutional gravities that tend to corporatize medicine. Casey Means was born to hold this job. She will provide our country with ethical guidance, wisdom, and gold-standard medical advice even when it challenges popular orthodoxies. She will be a juggernaut against the ossified medical conventions that have helped make our people the sickest in the world at the highest cost per capita. Casey is a breath of fresh air, and we can’t wait for her to get started.”
