Well being and Human Companies (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 operating mate, Nicole Shanahan, mentioned late Wednesday that somebody is “controlling” his selections after President Trump named physician-turned-wellness influencer Casey Means as his new surgeon common nominee.
In a publish on the social platform X, Shanahan known as the announcement “strange,” including that she was “promised” neither Casey Means nor Calley Means would serve at HHS or be appointed to any publish if Shanahan supported Kennedy’s affirmation for the Cupboard publish.
Calley Means is a particular authorities worker on the HHS, and the siblings are high-profile proponents of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
“Yes, it’s very strange. Doesn’t make any sense,” Shanahan wrote on X, responding to a publish that expressed concern that Casey Means, a graduate of Stanford Medical College, has “just about no clinical experience.”
“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),” Shanahan mentioned. “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),” she added.
Kennedy in a Thursday morning publish on X known as Casey Means a “breath of fresh air” and thanked Trump for her nomination.
“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,” Kennedy mentioned. “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.”
The Hill reached out to the HHS for remark.
Shanahan additionally mentioned “there is something very artificial and aggressive” in regards to the siblings, “virtually like they had been bred and raised Manchurian belongings.”
Trump pulled his nomination of Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon common and tapped Means as a substitute on Wednesday.
Nesheiwat’s credentials got here into query final month when CBS Information reported that data confirmed she had graduated from the American College of the Caribbean College of Drugs, and never the College of Arkansas College of Drugs, as had been mentioned when her nomination was introduced.
“I am pleased to announce that Dr. Casey Means, will be nominated as our next Surgeon General of the United States of America. Casey has impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,” Trump wrote on Fact Social.
“Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding,” he added. “Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History. Congratulations to Casey!”
Casey Means is the co-founder of Ranges, a well being know-how firm that focuses on monitoring well being info by gadgets like steady glucose displays.
Up to date at midday EDT
