In a surprise move on Wednesday afternoon, President Trump said he’s nominating a Stanford-educated doctor and “Make America Healthy Again” influencer, Casey Means, to be his surgeon general, replacing his original pick, Janette Nesheiwat, on the eve of her confirmation hearing.

Dr. Nesheiwat will now work in “another capacity” at the Department of Health and Human Services, Mr. Trump announced on Truth Social.

Citing her “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” Mr. Trump said Dr. Means, if confirmed, will work closely with the health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to implement the MAHA agenda and “reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic.”

“Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Dr. Means received her BA with honors and an MD from Stanford University. She dropped out of her residency at Oregon Health and Science University to “devote her life to tackling the root cause of why Americans are sick,” according to her personal website. She is the co-founder of Levels, a health technology company, and is co-author of “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health” with her brother, Calley Means, another prominent MAHA advocate who’s currently a special government employee advising Mr. Kennedy.

Like other health establishment disruptors on Mr. Kennedy’s team at the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Means is a prominent new media figure who uses her platform to criticize a health care system she says wants Americans to be afflicted by chronic diseases, thus enriching the health industry, rather than emphasizing health.

She promotes a “do your own research” approach to health care, advising individuals not to just trust doctors or “the science” when it comes to their personal well-being.

“There’s a place and utility for biomedical science, and there’s also a place for using our big, powerful brains to understand what is right for our bodies and lives and what isn’t,” she wrote in a 2024 post on X.

Her nomination was received with both praise and downright jubilation by those in the MAHA community.

A MAHA activist who is the “Food Babe” blogger, Vani Hari, who said she “screamed so loud” upon hearing the news, told the Sun that Dr. Means’s nomination as surgeon general is “the best thing for our country.”

“Dr. Casey Means will bring truth and integrity back to the country’s highest medical office,” Ms. Hari wrote in a text to the Sun. 

A MAHA advocate who is the founder of Ways2Well and a frequent guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Brigham Buhler, told the Sun that Dr. Means’s nomination is “a powerful step in the right direction.”

“She’s a true advocate for patients – committed to uncovering and treating the root causes of chronic disease, not just masking symptoms with prescriptions,” Mr. Buhler said in a text to The Sun. 

Dr. Means’s nomination represents a sudden about-face for Mr. Trump, who originally nominated Dr. Nesheiwat, the medical director of an urgent care company and a Fox News contributor who is the sister-in-law of  Mike Waltz, who was fired last week as national security adviser and nominated for United Nations ambassador.

Dr. Nesheiwat had come under fire after she was accused of misrepresenting her medical schooling and concealing that she went to medical school in the Caribbean. She had claimed to have earned her degree at the University of Arkansas, when in fact she’d received an MD from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten. Dr. Nesheiwat did her residency at a health practice affiliated with the University of Arkansas. 

Perhaps more significantly, Dr. Nesheiwat was coming under fire from Laura Loomer, the conservative activist who has the ear of Mr. Trump and had also called for the ouster of Mr. Waltz. Ms. Loomer pointed to Dr. Nesheiwat’s support for the Covid vaccine as disqualifying. On her X account, the far-right provocateur spent the past week excoriating Dr. Nesheiwat’s qualifications, accusing her of being “Woke” and citing her advocacy for the “China Virus vaccine.” Ms. Loomer also dug up a lawsuit that accused Dr. Nesheiwat of medical malpractice regarding her treatment of a woman’s infected finger.

In a statement on social media, Dr. Nesheiwat thanked Mr. Trump and said her focus “continues to be on improving the health and well-being of all Americans.”

Ms. Loomer, who did not respond to a text from the Sun, celebrated Dr. Nesheiwat’s removal by posting “SCALP” on her X account. 

The  surgeon general is considered “the nation’s doctor” and oversees the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, an elite group of more than 6,000 public health officials. The role has limited actual authority, but can be an important bully pulpit. C. Everett Koop, who was surgeon general between 1982 and 1989, played a groundbreaking role in educating Americans about the dangers of smoking. 

If approved, Dr. Means would be tasked with providing the American public with the “best scientific information available on how to improve their health,” according to the Office of the Surgeon General website. 

“I did not have a social media influencer who didn’t finish a medical residency becoming the Surgeon General on my 2025 bingo card, but here we are,” a pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist, Zachary Rubin, wrote on social media.