Trump’s surgeon general nominee weaves through contentious Senate hearing

The Hill · Feb 25, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Health Care The Big Story Trump’s surgeon general nominee weaves through contentious Senate hearing Casey Means, President Trump’s second nominee to be U.S. surgeon general, finally appeared before the Senate for her confirmation hearing more than half a year after she was nominated. Her highly publicized views and social media career fell under intense bipartisan scrutiny. © Photo credit Means appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Wednesday, about four months after her initial hearing was rescheduled when she went into labor just hours before it was meant to begin. From a political standpoint, Means is shoo-in for the role, being the sister of White House senior adviser Calley Means and a prominent social media influencer who promotes multiple nets of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda. Means, 38, would be the first millennial surgeon general if confirmed and has shared many of her thoughts and opinions online as an influencer, which provided HELP committee members with plenty of fodder to question her on. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were apprehensive about her immunization views. She’s previously called the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose a “crime” and claimed the prior U.S. immunization schedule caused health declines in children. She faced prolonged lines of questioning about her vaccination views by several committee members, including Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Means sought to characterize her previous rhetoric about vaccines to be more about informed consent and autonomy than about the vaccines themselves. “Like you, I’m a physician. I believe vaccines save lives. I believe that vaccines are a key part of … any infectious disease public health strategy,” Means told HELP Committee Chair Cassidy. “I’m supportive of vaccination. I do believe that each patient, mother or parent needs to have a conversation with their pediatrician about any medication they’re putting in their body and their children’s body.” Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, I’m Joseph Choi — every week I follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:President Trump delivered a record-setting State of the Union address Tuesday night, when he zeroed in on his signature economic and foreign policies, while laying criticism on the Supreme Court and Democrats. Four justices listened but did not react. The president touted his successes, while branding Democrats “crazy.” They pushed back on his claims, protesting some during the speech. Trump also handed out several … (NEXSTAR) – An Oregon-based company is recalling nearly 60,000 pounds of frozen blueberries that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Willamette Valley Fruit Company in Salem, Oregon, voluntarily ordered the recall Feb. 12, and on Tuesday, the FDA labeled the recall Class I, its most severe. The classification is reserved for situations in which exposure to the item has a “reasonable probability” of … A new research study shows that hepatitis B vaccination rates among newborns in the U.S. declined by more than 10 percent from its peak in early 2023. The study, published online Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, determined via an analysis of over 12.4 million newborns that vaccination rates for HBV peaked at 83.5 percent in February 2023. 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Klein found that a single data center could pose negative health risks for people living … Around the Nation Local and state headlines on health care:Florida’s ‘medical freedom’ bill takes another step forward in Senate (WUSF) Arizona voters could soon decide future of statewide ‘medical mandates’ (12News) PBM reforms promise relief for NC’s independent pharmacies (North Carolina Health News) What We’re Reading Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets: Labor-HHS-Education earmarks are back in House, with limits (Roll Call) New education loan limits favor RFK Jr.’s enemies (Politico) A rare disease drug was approvable, then it wasn’t. Inside a surprise rejection by the FDA (Stat) You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow! Tags Angela Alsobrooks Autism Bill Cassidy childhood vaccinations hepatitis B vaccine Lisa Murkowski surgeon general Tim Kaine Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.