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3h ago

White House Reaffirms Casey Means After Trump Opens Door to Replacing Surgeon General Pick

Skeptical Senate Republicans leave the nomination without a clear path to a committee vote.

Casey Means, nominated to serve as the next U.S. Surgeon General, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 25, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Dr. Casey Means, nominee to be surgeon general, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Feb. 25, 2026.
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Overview

  • Trump, who told reporters Sunday that replacing Casey Means was “possible,” signaled he may withdraw his surgeon general nominee after months of stalled Senate action.
  • The White House later said the president still backs Means and urged the Senate to confirm her, highlighting her work on chronic disease and the administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
  • Former surgeon general Jerome Adams publicly urged rejection, arguing Means lacks core qualifications and warning she would not even be commissioned as a physician in the U.S. Public Health Service if confirmed.
  • Three Republicans on the Senate health panel — Chair Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins — have not committed to advancing her, reflecting ongoing concerns about her inactive medical license and unconventional background in wellness and functional medicine.
  • The confirmation fight has intensified as the CDC reports more than 1,500 U.S. measles cases this year and as Means’s hearing answers on routine childhood vaccines drew criticism for hedging rather than offering a clear endorsement.