Trump’s MAHA pick for surgeon general flounders amid GOP doubts



President Trump’s pick for surgeon general, Casey Means, is in jeopardy, as at least four Republican senators have expressed misgivings over her medical qualifications, views on vaccines, and some dubious advice she’s given as a wellness influencer, according to reporting from The Washington Post.

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) all expressed concern about her potential role in a confirmation hearing last month and appear to remain doubtful. Just one of those senators may be enough to block her nomination from advancing beyond the Senate Health committee.

Means, who was nominated more than 10 months ago, is known as a prominent wellness influencer within the Make America Health Again movement and a close ally of anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who started it. In the hearing, senators pressed Means on her views on vaccines, including shots against the flu and measles and a dose of hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. She largely dodged the questions, refusing to explicitly recommend the life-saving shots and avoided overtly contradicting Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views and misinformation.

Afterward, Senators Collins and Murkowski both said they still had questions. Murkowski also said she had “strong reservations” about Means’s nomination and that, as of last week, that opinion hadn’t changed, according to the Post.

Cassidy, who is the chair of the Senate Health Committee and a strong advocate for vaccines, also pressed Means on her views on immunizations at multiple points during the hearing. Cassidy cast a key vote to confirm Kennedy as health secretary after Kennedy made promises not to impose certain anti-vaccine changes—promises Kennedy has largely broken. Though Cassidy has not indicated how he’ll vote on Means’s nomination, he is seen by those in MAHA as being responsible for her holdup. When the Post asked him about the status of the nomination, Cassidy responded only, “no change.”



Source link

  • Related Posts

    ‘They feel true’: political deepfakes are growing in influence – even if people know they aren’t real | AI (artificial intelligence)

    Online content creators are not just building fake images and videos of prominent public figures, they are also fabricating people and using them in military contexts, which can make them…

    Sony and Honda’s debut EV is dead before it even arrived

    Honda and Sony announced that they are discontinuing both the Afeela 1 and 2, their electric cars. The company is reviewing its “business direction,” but it’s hard to expect much…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Third No Kings protests to see millions across US push back on Trump administration | Protest (US)

    Third No Kings protests to see millions across US push back on Trump administration | Protest (US)

    ‘They feel true’: political deepfakes are growing in influence – even if people know they aren’t real | AI (artificial intelligence)

    ‘They feel true’: political deepfakes are growing in influence – even if people know they aren’t real | AI (artificial intelligence)

    Why some Christians pitch crypto at church

    Why some Christians pitch crypto at church

    Duke vs. UConn game time set for Elite Eight matchup

    Duke vs. UConn game time set for Elite Eight matchup

    Quicksketch: Who’s who in the NDP leadership race

    Quicksketch: Who’s who in the NDP leadership race

    When the owner of Toronto's seashell house was in trouble, the community and a trio of roofers stepped up to help

    When the owner of Toronto's seashell house was in trouble, the community and a trio of roofers stepped up to help