White House pulls surgeon general nomination day before Senate confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday withdrew the nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to serve as U.S. Surgeon General, days after right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer criticized the nominee for previously advocating for the Covid vaccine and accused her of promoting “DEI-focused initiatives.”

Trump confirmed Nesheiwat’s withdrawal in a Truth Social post, where he simultaneously announced that Dr. Casey Means will be his new pick for the position.

“Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History. Congratulations to Casey! Secretary Kennedy looks forward to working with Dr. Janette Nesheiwat in another capacity at HHS,” Trump wrote.

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Trump praised Means, his new nominee, for “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” referring to the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan, and said she’d work alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr to “reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans.”

Means, who attained both undergraduate and medical degrees at Stanford University, has held research positions at the National Institutes of Health, New York University and Oregon Health & Science University.

She’s a proponent of metabolic health, when your body processes food in a way that keeps your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and weight within a healthy range.

Kennedy is a longtime supporter of Means and her brother Calley Means, characterizing them both as children’s health and chronic disease experts during an August interview after he ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump.

Calley Means, according to Kennedy, worked on his presidential campaign and had also advised Trump regarding health policy.

Nesheiwat had been scheduled to have her confirmation hearing Thursday morning before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

According to her website, Nesheiwat is a board-certified medical doctor who served as a medical news correspondent and medical director at CityMed. She previously worked as a medical contributor at Fox News.

Loomer on Sunday shared a lengthy post accusing Nesheiwat of being “entangled in an intricate medical malpractice litigation,” and highlighted her past support of the Covid vaccine. While serving as a Fox News contributor, Nesheiwat encouraged of the use of the vaccine and boosters.

“We have many vaccines in existence that treat a variety of non-life threatening diseases but to have a COVID vaccine, i.e. a Pfizer or Moderna mRNA that will actually save you from dying is a gift from God,” Nesheiwat wrote in Fox News opinion piece.

Loomer, who has been influential in the removal of Trump aides, said Nesheiwat’s support for Covid vaccines “render her unfit for the role of United States Surgeon General, and she should not be confirmed by the US Senate to hold the position.”

Nesheiwat did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.

Nesheiwat is the sister-in-law of former national security adviser Michael Waltz, who was ousted from his role last week amid scrutiny over his creation of a Signal chat group to discuss sensitive military information that inadvertently included a journalist.

The Surgeon General oversees the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a group of more than 6,000 uniformed officers who are public health professionals, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Nesheiwat’s withdrawal marks the second time the White House has pulled a nominee for a top health position shortly before their Senate confirmation hearing.

In March, Trump pulled the nomination of former. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., who had been picked to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A White House official told NBC News that Weldon’s nomination was pulled because it became clear that he did not have the support necessary for Senate confirmation because of past controversial comments about vaccines.