'Nation deserves better': GOP-appointed surgeons general oppose Trump's new pick
Dr. Casey Means, President Donald Trump's new pick for U.S. surgeon general, is likely going to have “a bumpy road to confirmation as she faces pushback on multiple fronts,” according to NPR.
The outlet spoke with Trump’s surgeon general from his first term, Dr. Jerome Adams, who noted that historically the surgeon general has been "required to be a licensed physician."
"As the Senate is considering confirmation, it is important that both historical precedent… and the law, are all taken into consideration," Adams wrote to NPR in an email.
He’s not the only former surgeon general voicing concern. Dr. Richard Carmona served under President George W. Bush, he told NPR "In every previous surgeon general, they've got the license, they've gotten the residency, they have at least some leadership ability that's scalable."
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Later adding, "We don't see any of that here. So I think that our nation deserves better."
Criticism is also coming from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.
Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s former running mate, posted on X, “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).”
The “siblings” Shanahan is referring to are Dr. Means and her brother Calley Means, who is an adviser to Kennedy.
Shanahan went on to criticize the siblings, saying there “is something very artificial and aggressive about them, almost like they were bred and raised Manchurian assets.”
According to the outlet, “others who have been supporters of Trump and Kennedy have also voiced their displeasure with Means, in part because she's not been vocal enough against vaccines.”
Means is replacing nominee Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor.
Nesheiwat was scrutinized over her medical credentials and for not being critical enough of vaccines.