Surgeon General nominee Casey Means goes into labor, delaying his confirmation hearing

NEW YORK (AP) — A Senate hearing for President Donald Trump’s surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, has been postponed because she went into labor, a Senate Health Committee spokesman said Thursday.

The news came just hours before Means, 38, who is pregnant with her first child, appeared virtually before the committee for her confirmation hearing. It was not immediately clear when the session would be rescheduled.

He watches: Professional background of Casey Means, Trump’s pick for Surgeon General

“Everyone is thrilled for Dr. Means and her family,” said Emily Hilliard, deputy press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services. “This is one of the few times in life when it is easy to ask for a Senate hearing to be postponed.”

Means, a Stanford-educated physician whose popularity as a health influencer rose after she became disillusioned with conventional medicine, was expected to share a vision for ending chronic disease by targeting their root causes, an idea that dovetailed with the “Make America Healthy Again” message from her close ally, Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.

The writer and entrepreneur was also expected to defend her credibility amid concerns over her qualifications and potential conflicts.

As the nation’s doctor, the Surgeon General is a leader for Americans and health officials on public health issues. If confirmed, Means will represent an administration that has already changed the public health landscape by calling for increased scrutiny of vaccines, the nation’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs.

Read more: How Trump’s pick for surgeon general is winning over her online followers

Al-Wasail does not have any government experience, and her license to practice the profession of doctor is not valid. Although she attended medical school at Stanford University, she left the surgical residency program at Oregon Health & Science University in 2018. She later cited her belief that the health care system was broken and exploitative as the reason for her withdrawal.

She then turned to alternative approaches to address what she described as widespread metabolic dysfunction driven largely by poor nutrition and overeating of ultra-processed foods. She co-founded Levels, a nutrition, sleep and exercise tracking app that can also give users insights through blood tests and continuous glucose monitors.

Financial disclosures show it has made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting health and wellness products, including specialty basil seed supplements, teas, elixirs, probiotic products, and a prepared meal delivery service.

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An Associated Press investigation found that while recommending these products, they sometimes failed to disclose the potential for profit or profit from sales.

In an ethics filing, Means said that if she is confirmed to the position by the full Senate, she will resign from her position with Levels and forfeit or withdraw her stock and stock options in the company. She also pledged to stop working for Rupa, a company specializing in laboratory work for which she developed an online course. Although she may continue to receive royalty payments from her book “Good Energy,” she will not promote it, the document said.

The filing also noted that it “will not have any direct financial interest in entities on the FDA’s restricted property list.”

As surgeon general, Means will oversee 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service and can issue warnings warning of public health threats.

She will be tasked with helping advance Kennedy’s sprawling MAHA agenda, which calls for removing thousands of additives and chemicals from American foods, eliminating conflicts of interest in federal agencies and incentivizing healthier foods in school lunches and other nutrition programs.

She will also be free to use the office to advocate on vaccination-related issues — although she will have no role in creating or implementing vaccine policy. The outlets mostly stayed away from Kennedy’s controversial and scandalous views on vaccines, but called for further investigation into their safety.

The nomination for President Donald Trump’s first pick for general surgeon, Janet Nesheiwat, a former Fox News medical contributor, has been withdrawn after she came under criticism from the Republican president’s allies.