The MAHA movement wants to name one of its own as America’s top doctor.
U.S. surgeon general nominee Casey Means fielded questions about vaccines, autism research, and her own qualifications before Congress this week, a critical moment in the Trump administration’s quest to remake America’s health systems.
In her opening statements on Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Means expressed concerns about the proliferation of “preventable disease” that plagues Americans, including chronic illness, diabetes, and high blood pressure. During the hearing, Means touched on many policy priorities she shares with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other figures in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, better known as MAHA—a spin on Trump’s MAGA branding.
“As surgeon general, I would call on every American and the Public Health Service to join in a great national healing—one that halts preventable chronic disease, makes healthy living the easiest choice, honors the body’s connection to the environment, and puts America back on the road toward wholeness and health,” Means said.
MAHA Controversy surrounds Means
A close ally and adviser of Kennedy, Means would be an anomaly—as the first U.S. surgeon general who lacks an active medical license. Without an active medical license, doctors cannot see patients or write prescriptions. And Means says she has no plans to reactivate it, even if she is confirmed. Historically, practicing physicians with years of experience take on the role as America’s top public health communicator, but the qualification is tradition, not a requirement.
Means, a 38-year-old wellness influencer, graduated from Stanford University’s medical school but left her surgical residency program at Oregon Health & Science University before completing it. “Left my residency in my 5th year to focus on the real root causes of why Americans are so sick,” Means, who was previously an otolaryngology resident, wrote on her LinkedIn page.
“Public health leadership must address the evidence-based, modifiable drivers of chronic diseases, including ultra-processed diet, industrial chemical exposure, lack of physical activity, chronic stress and loneliness, and overmedicalization,” Means said. “I have been asked to help our nation get healthy and answer the call of millions—especially mothers—who are begging for transparency and support. That is what I am here to do.”
Means cashed in on health trends
Beyond her lack of experience as a practicing physician, Means is an untraditional surgeon general choice in other ways. She is a cofounder and former chief medical officer of the health tech startup Levels, which makes a popular app that helps people monitor their blood glucose levels continuously.
Levels has raised funding from Andreessen Horowitz and other prominent Silicon Valley investors. In excerpts from her book, Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health, Means has extolled the virtues of monitoring blood sugar to shift eating habits and “reduce global metabolic suffering.”
Blood glucose monitoring isn’t the only health business Means has cashed in on. The surgeon general nominee has also made hundreds of thousands of dollars by promoting supplements, vitamins, and wellness products through her newsletter and social media channels—often without disclosing her paid partnerships. Those lucrative relationships pose sticky and unprecedented ethical questions for someone seeking to shape the national health conversation as America’s next surgeon general.
A MAHA-friendly vaccine message
Like other members of the MAHA movement, Means emphasizes personal habits and mindful eating, criticizing common pharmaceutical and medical interventions as a corporate cash grab. A prolific blogger, Means mixes sound science—like recent research on the risks of alcohol—with dubious claims sowing concerns about the dangers of vaccines.
“There is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children,” Means wrote in a newsletter published last year, echoing a core concern of the anti-vaccine movement.
On Wednesday, Means faced direct questions over her beliefs about autism and vaccines from Republicans and Democrats alike. During the hearing, Means claimed that “anti-vaccine rhetoric has never been a part of my message” while suggesting that the link between the “autism crisis” and vaccines remains unexplored.
Hinting at a possible link between autism and vaccines without scientific evidence denies established research on the topic and can dissuade adults and parents from seeking potentially lifesaving vaccinations. The American Medical Association wrote last year that “an abundance of evidence from decades of scientific studies shows no link between vaccines and autism” and urged people to seek vaccines, which have been proven to be safe and effective.
This week, 15 states announced that they would sue the Trump administration over its decision to pare down federal recommendations for childhood vaccines. While vaccinations for measles, polio, and whooping cough are still recommended for all children, federal health policies no longer recommend jabs for COVID-19, rotavirus, meningitis, hepatitis A, or hepatitis B across the board.
During her hearing, Means was pressed repeatedly to articulate her position on childhood vaccines—probably the most contentious issue to emerge out of Kennedy’s MAHA movement. Means, who previously called the practice of giving newborns the hepatitis B vaccine “absolute insanity,” emphasized parent and patient choice over universal public health policies designed to protect Americans at large.
“I do believe that each patient, mother, parent, needs to have a conversation with their pediatrician about any medication they’re putting in their body or their children’s body,” Means said.