Casey Means: A MAHA leader, and the next surgeon general?

Summary

Post Reports Podcast Summary
Episode Title: Casey Means: A MAHA leader, and the next surgeon general?
Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Elahe Izadi
Guest: Lauren Weber, Health and Science Accountability Reporter, The Washington Post

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Overview

This episode examines the nomination of Casey Means, a prominent health products entrepreneur and controversial wellness advocate, as the next U.S. Surgeon General. Through in-depth reporting and analysis, the podcast explores Means’s unconventional background, her central role in the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, her diverging views from mainstream medicine, and the implications of her nomination for U.S. health policy under President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Role and Influence of the U.S. Surgeon General (02:31–04:32)

• The Surgeon General is one of the most visible and trusted medical figures in the U.S.
• They use their platform to spotlight public health crises (e.g., smoking, HIV, obesity, loneliness) but do not directly make policy.
• The role includes oversight of 6,000+ uniformed public health personnel, deploying for public health crises, and issuing groundbreaking reports (e.g., 1964 landmark report on smoking and disease).

“They can set the health agenda for the country and that can make a real difference.” —Lauren Weber (04:25)

2. Why Casey Means is a Standout Nominee (04:44–05:50)

• Means is a departure from traditional medical establishment picks—she's built a large online following, authored bestsellers, and has been openly critical of mainstream medicine.
• Promotes supplements, alternative diagnostics, and has a history in wellness and functional medicine.
• Challenges core economic and cultural frameworks of American healthcare, favoring holistic and metabolic health approaches.
• Known for statements that many experts feel “overpromise” scientific capabilities, raising concerns about using her influential platform to disseminate unconventional views.

“The system is rigged against the American patient to create diseases and then profit off of them.” —Casey Means (05:50, Tucker Carlson appearance)

3. Means’s Background and Path to Prominence (08:16–09:49)

• Stanford graduate with honors; NIH and NYU research experience; head and neck surgery residency at Oregon Health & Science University; comes from a politically engaged, health-conscious family.
• Left medical residency in 2018, citing disillusionment with surgical care's incentives and structure. Transitioned to advocating for systemic reform from outside traditional channels.

“She felt so disillusioned with the practice and incentives of surgical care that she chose to resign and work on reform from outside the system.” —Lauren Weber (09:52)

4. Functional Medicine & Entrepreneurial Ventures (11:23–13:17)

• Founded Means Health, a functional medicine practice emphasizing root-cause, holistic approaches to disease—but the field is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties and attracts both adherents and critics.
• Developed concepts like “labracadabra”—using routine lab work as a biofeedback tool for lifestyle interventions.
• Co-founded Levels, a company selling continuous glucose monitors to non-diabetics despite limited scientific endorsement for such use outside diabetes.

“I believe continuous glucose monitoring is the most powerful technology for generating the data and awareness to rectify our bad energy crisis in the Western world.” —Casey Means, as cited by Lauren Weber (13:17)

5. "Good": Means’s MAHA Manifesto (17:31–18:26)

• Co-authored a best-selling manifesto with her brother promoting metabolic health and lifestyle-based prevention and reversal of diseases—claims that extend to ailments like infertility and Alzheimer’s, and assert the preventability of pancreatic cancer.
• Medical experts say Means overstates science on reversibility and individual control.

“The ability to prevent and reverse… a variety of ailments, including infertility and Alzheimer’s, is under your control and simpler than you think.” —Casey Means, quoted by Lauren Weber (17:47)

6. Distrust of Medical Establishment / Individualized Medicine (18:46–19:37)

• One chapter titled, “Trust yourself, not your doctor,” encapsulates her stance favoring personal research and self-experimentation over traditional medical authority.
• Experts warn this can create unrealistic expectations about individual control over health.

“The problem with a lot of our wellness advocates is they give people the impression that if you do some very simplistic things, you’ll avoid some very bad things. Tragically, life just isn’t that simple.” —Dr. Georges C. Benjamin (19:37)

7. Criticism & Political Context (20:24–21:08)

• Criticism spans the political spectrum, including former Trump Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who voiced concerns over “potentially misleading, often scientifically wrong” statements from Means.
• HHS defends Means as “a world-class physician and scientist… committed to evidence-based care.”

8. Vaccines & Means’s Messaging (21:19–22:02)

• Means does not mention vaccines in her book, but later on podcasts, she has questioned the cumulative vaccine schedule for children and specific vaccines (e.g., hepatitis B), paralleling RFK Jr.'s vaccine skepticism.

“It’s like with vaccines… I bet that one vaccine probably isn’t causing autism, but what about the 20 that they’re getting before 18 months?” —Casey Means, Joe Rogan podcast (21:49)

• Reporter reiterates consensus that “there is no scientific link between vaccines and autism.” (22:02)

9. Financial Interests & Sponsorships (23:03–24:35)

• Means has earned over half a million dollars in sponsorships, book tours, and partnerships, including with companies selling “diagnostic testing, herbal remedies, and wellness products.”
• Has promoted products like $125 longevity supplements (Timeline brand) and various diagnostic tests, sometimes blurring lines between personal use and formal partnerships in her disclosures.
• While HHS says she will comply with ethics rules, experts question whether her disclosures meet FTC guidelines for transparency.

10. Business Ties and Context in Trump Administration (25:10–26:22)

• Though previous Surgeon Generals had industry ties (e.g., Vivek Murthy), Means’s extensive involvement in supplement and wellness promotions is notable.
• Trump administration has several top officials with similar connections to the wellness industry, marking a broader trend.

11. Confirmation Prospects and Potential Impact (26:32–28:17)

• Means is likely to be confirmed despite expected contentious hearings, given the current political dynamics.
• Her confirmation would solidify MAHA’s ascendancy and further mainstream direct challenges to established medical science—potentially impacting public trust and health outcomes.

“KC Means being confirmed would really cement the rise of MAHA…it would cement the rise of this pushback on mainstream medicine.” —Lauren Weber (27:04)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On systemic change:
  “American health is just getting destroyed. It’s getting destroyed.” —Casey Means (00:14)

• On metabolic health as a focus:
  “When our cells make good energy…so many of the conditions that are plaguing us can improve. And so that needs to be the central focus of our American health care system. And right now, it is the intentional blind spot.” —Casey Means (00:30)

• On distrust of the system:
  “Trust yourself, not your doctor.” —Book title/Means’s mantra, discussed at 18:46

• On skepticism about vaccine schedule:
  “What about the 20 [vaccines] that they’re getting before 18 months?” —Casey Means (21:49, Joe Rogan podcast)

• On criticism from former officials:
  “RFK Jr. and Casey Means have a history of saying things in a direct and potentially misleading, often scientifically wrong way…” —Jerome Adams (20:24)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Introduction and overview — 00:01–02:01
• Surgeon General’s role explained — 02:31–04:32
• Casey Means: Who is she and why nominated? — 04:44–07:32
• Reporting on Means: Her journey and education — 08:16–09:49
• Means’s departure from mainstream medicine — 09:49–11:14
• Functional medicine and entrepreneurial ventures — 11:23–13:17
• Discussion of Means’s book/manifesto — 17:31–18:26
• Experts’ concerns about her claims — 18:46–19:37
• Political and institutional criticism — 20:24–21:08
• Vaccines and Means’s public statements — 21:19–22:02
• Financial disclosures and partnership practices — 23:03–24:35
• Comparison to past administrations — 25:10–26:22
• Confirmation outlook & potential impact — 26:32–28:17

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Conclusion

The episode presents Casey Means as a dynamic but polarizing figure whose rise reflects growing dissatisfaction with the U.S. medical establishment and a shift towards wellness and lifestyle-focused health policies. While her confirmation as Surgeon General seems likely, her skepticism of mainstream science, focus on metabolic health, and financial entanglements with wellness companies raise crucial questions about the future direction of U.S. public health leadership.

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For further reading and reporting, visit washingtonpost.com.

Transcript

[Elahe Izadi]

The Surgeon General is one of the nation's most recognizable and trusted medical positions. Now a new type of leader has been tapped for the role. Casey Means.

[Casey Means]

American health is just getting destroyed. It's getting destroyed.

[Elahe Izadi]

Means is a health products entrepreneur and popular online personality. She's also been very critical of the medical establishment. Like here she is on the Megyn Kelly show last year.

[Casey Means]

When our cells make good energy, that is, have good metabolic health, so many of the conditions that are plaguing us can improve. And so that needs to be the central focus of our American health care system. And right now, it is the intentional blind spot of the American health care system.

[Elahe Izadi]

Means promotes this idea that some diseases can be prevented and even reversed by, quote, good energy. To her, that means improving metabolic health with a healthy lifestyle. Tomorrow, lawmakers will vet Means as the next Surgeon General of the United States. She's set to testify before Congress for her confirmation hearing, and she'll be attending virtually because she's pregnant and due at any moment.

[Lauren Weber]

Well, Casey Means really epitomizes the Make America Healthy Again movement. Trump, she helped shape it. She's Maha's doctor.

[Elahe Izadi]

Lauren Weber is a health and science accountability reporter for the Post. She spent months reporting on Means with our colleague Rachel Rubine.

[Lauren Weber]

Many medical experts that we spoke to said they're highly concerned that the, quote, unquote, America's top doctor could be someone that they say veers outside of established science and over promises on what that science can deliver. And they're worried that she'll use her platform, which is essentially a megaphone about America's health, to do the same.

[Elahe Izadi]

From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. I'm Elahei izadi. It's Wednesday, October 29th. Today we follow the Rise of KC Means. We talk about her background and how her collision course with the medical establishment could shake up American medicine. Lauren, hi. Thanks so much for joining us today.

[Lauren Weber]

Thanks for having me.

[Elahe Izadi]

So, first of all, we're talking about this position, the US Surgeon General that I think a lot of us have heard before might be vaguely familiar with, but maybe don't fully understand what the US Surgeon General's role is and why it matters. So what exactly is the US Surgeon General?

[Lauren Weber]

So Surgeon General is typically actually one of the nation's most recognizable and trusted medical posts. And traditionally, they've used their bully pulpit of sorts to help fight important public health threats to shine a light on them, like hiv, smoking, obesity, addiction. And the Surgeon General also oversees more than 6,000 uniformed public health personnel that often are deployed to fight public health threats or work on America's public health crises. And they're also charged with issuing seminal reports with the latest medical research in the history of the world. No non essential habit ever got so entrenched so fast. 70 million Americans smoke today. They got a message from the United States Surgeon General. So, like in 1964, the Surgeon General report on smoking causing lung cancer and heart disease was a huge, huge deal. Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance to the United States to warrant remedial action. And we saw the most recent Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, propose warning labels for social media and also sound the alarms on America's growing epidemic of loneliness. Loneliness is more than just a bad feeling. It has real consequences for our mental and physical health. It increases our risk of depression, anxiety and suicide. But social disconnection also raises the risk of heart disease and dementia and premature death. So while they can't directly change actual policy, they can set the health agenda for the country and that can make a real difference.

[Elahe Izadi]

So President Donald Trump has nominated Casey Means to be the next U.S. surgeon General. Why does this pick stand out to you?

[Lauren Weber]

You know, Casey Means is, is really a fascinating example of the moment that we're in. She's someone who's amassed a popular online following. She's also someone who's controversial. You know, many experts have picked apart some of her statements saying they're not based in science. You know, she's an unusual pick for a fair amount of reasons. But for one, she doesn't come from the traditional medical establishment that we've seen surgeon generals come from in the past. She really made a name for herself on podcasts. She's a best selling author. She also has promoted supplements and diagnostic texts and even tease elixirs in the wellness and alternative medicine space. She's also a leading critic of, of the medical establishment. Even on her own website she says, quote, means is considered controversial because her work challenges the economic and cultural foundations of US Healthcare, agriculture and food systems. Additionally, she's frequently suggested that Americans should question the advice they get from medical authorities. Here she is on the Tucker Carlson show last year.

[Casey Means]

The system is rigged against the American patient to create diseases and then profit off of them. This is happening across almost every level lever of our major industries, from processed food to tech to pharma. And so really what, what Americans need to understand is that these trends can stop immediately.

[Elahe Izadi]

So yeah, I, I want to get more into her backstory and how she got to this point. But First, Lauren, what was the administration's reason for choosing Kayce Means as the Surgeon General?

[Lauren Weber]

Well, Means was pretty instrumental in shaping and creating Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Secretary for Health and Human Services MAHA Initiative, the Make America Healthy Again Initiative, which has galvanized by women who support his goals and have become known as Maha Moms. And on Fox News in May, RFK Jr actually noted that Means was pregnant and says that she, quote, has a touchstone with every mother in this country. I don't think there's gonna be a more effective Surgeon General in our history because of the capacity and the talents and the experience that she has.

[Elahe Izadi]

So, Lauren, you and your colleagues dug into KC Means writings and also her social media presence. How does she come to the world?

[Lauren Weber]

Yeah, she comes across in a way that I think a lot of people relate to. She's, like many of us, an elder millennial. She writes in emojis, often in her newsletter. You know, she titled her Instagram account Dr. Casey's Kitchen. She's been on all these podcasts, is very persuasive on them. But when she first started out, she did a lot of recipes. You know, it was a lot of how I can show you how to eat healthier, you know, how you can optimize your health.

[Elahe Izadi]

So, Lauren, I know that you and our colleagues dove pretty deep into learning more about Kasey Means, her backstory, and just trying to get a sense of what kind of Surgeon General she would be. How did you all go about this? Like, what did your reporting look like?

[Lauren Weber]

Well, it was really important to us to get the full scope of what she stands for. So we read her book, we went through all our newsletters. We reviewed her podcasts, we reviewed her online writings. We spoke to over 35 of her friends, colleagues, colleagues, medical experts, and other folks to really get a sense of who she is as a person and how she got here.

[Elahe Izadi]

So what did you learn? How did Kasey Means get here? Where does that story begin?

[Lauren Weber]

Well, I mean, at the end of the day, Kasey Means has racked up quite a lot of accolades for being only 38 years old. You know, she went to Stanford. She graduated with many academic honors. She did research at the NIH and NYU and went on to Stanford Medical School. You know, these are all very prestigious. And then she went on to have a residency in one of the top fields for head and neck surgery at Oregon Health and Science University. I mean, that's a top residency. That's really hard to get into. I mean, she's a very accomplished person to be able to do that. And I think it's important to note, too. I mean, she came from a background based in the D.C. area. I mean, her dad served in a Republican administration. Callie, her brother and her grew up going to elite private high schools. They were raised Catholic with a strong spiritual grounding, you know, with a basis for independent thinking. Callie says. And, you know, nutrition was always important to Casey Means. You know, she tells the story about how she weighed over 200 pounds as an adolescent and then did her own research so that she could lose the excess weight. And that was a. That was an interest she carried through to her Stanford years and onward.

[Elahe Izadi]

And then what happened because she did depart that sort of typical path of medicine.

[Lauren Weber]

So nutrition, obviously was very important to her and clearly threaded throughout her interests over this time. So she's on the cusp of finishing her very prestigious residency, and she walks away from it in September of 2018.

[Elahe Izadi]

Like she left residency.

[Lauren Weber]

Yes, the biography on her website says that, quote, ultimately she felt so disillusioned with the practice and incentives of surgical care that she chose to resign and work on reform from outside the system.

[Elahe Izadi]

And just tell us, what exactly is medical residency?

[Lauren Weber]

So medical residency is the training you go through as a doctor after you've already gotten your MD to specialize. A lot of people train to be, you know, internal medicine, which is, you know, the regular doctors we go to to check on stuff, or, you know, in Means case, she was learning how to be a head and neck surgeon, which is a top medical specialty. Additionally, in her book, she describes how the stre of residency affected her own health, writing she suffered from chronic neck pain, depression, severe gastrointestinal problems. And, you know, I also spoke with some residents that she worked with who expressed some concern that someone would drop out of residency and then become surgeon General. But they also described her as passionate, kind, and a great communicator.

[Elahe Izadi]

So as I'm understanding it, is she a practicing doctor or no?

[Lauren Weber]

So as of last year, she can't practice medicine. According to the Oregon State Medical Board, she currently has a medical license in Oregon that she voluntarily placed in an active status. She holds no other licenses, according to the Federation of State Medical Boards.

[Elahe Izadi]

So just going back then to Casey Means path to this moment, after she left residency, what did she then do?

[Lauren Weber]

So she ended up launching a functional medicine and wellness consulting practice called Means Health out in Oregon.

[Elahe Izadi]

And what is functional medicine?

[Lauren Weber]

So supporters of functional medicine say it's a way of tackling the chronic disease epidemic by focusing on a more Holistic lifestyle intervention approach to the root causes of disease. The field is not recognized as a specialty certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties, and some medical critics contend it can result in over testing and fringe treatments.

[Elahe Izadi]

But I also would imagine it's rising perhaps in popularity because the medical establishment that exists right now, also there are a lot of people who feel ill served by it.

[Lauren Weber]

Oh, I mean, this is where the Maha movement has gotten so much political power. Americans in general are not happy with their healthcare system. They don't feel like it looks out for them, is too expensive. They don't feel like the treatments are serving them. And so this idea that a more holistic look at you as a whole person that takes time to look at you certainly has gained a lot of legs.

[Elahe Izadi]

So then for Casey Means, she has this practice within this space, what does she start doing with it?

[Lauren Weber]

She also begins circulating this concept called labracadabra, which she describes on her website as it would have used, quote, existing lab information from routine blood work as an educational biofeedback tool to empower patients to understand their health.

[Elahe Izadi]

Okay, so like unpack that for me, please. Does it mean, like, I go in and do a bunch of labs and then I can make decisions about how I eat or when I sleep and that sort of thing?

[Lauren Weber]

That's exactly right. It's a very popular idea in the functional medicine space. And, you know, it certainly does have a lot more personalized medicine to it, but the critics of it say that it could be expensive and may not reveal all that it's cracked up to.

[Elahe Izadi]

And then what else has she been up to?

[Lauren Weber]

Well, she went on to become co founder and chief medical officer of the company Levels, which charges somewhere in the hundreds of dollars for a subscription to Continuous Glucose Monitors and an app. And Continuous glucose Monitors, what they do is they measure your levels of glucose, which diabetics use to maintain their health. But Levels wants folks that are not diabetic to use these devices, and the American association of Clinical Endocrinology does not recommend them for these folks. The group's president said in an email to me that there just isn't strong scientific evidence to use them for this purpose. The numbers that these devices produce only tell part of the story for your overall health. Lovells did not respond to our requests for comment, but on its website, the company says it's currently reviewing its effectiveness in non diabetic patients through a research study. And Means herself has written, I believe continuous glucose monitoring is the most powerful technology for generating the data and awareness to rectify our bad energy crisis in the Western world. And then in 2024, Casey went on to publish what has largely been described as a sort of manifesto of the Make America Healthy Again movement, which we all know as Maha. She wrote it with Callie, her brother, and it's this best selling book called Good the Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.

[Elahe Izadi]

After the break, we'll dig into what Casey means had to say in her Maja manifesto. We'll be right back.

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[Elahe Izadi]

So Lauren, I want to learn more about KC Means Worldview on Health. And as you mentioned, she wrote this book with her brother that's thought of as a manifesto to the Maha movement. So what did you and our colleagues learn about her thinking on health from reading this book.

[Lauren Weber]

She really calls out a lot of big food companies for ultra processed foods. But she also speaks very definitively about concepts that medical experts told me. My colleague Rachel is is just going too far.

[Elahe Izadi]

Let's go through some of those examples then.

[Lauren Weber]

One of the most striking phrases was that she wrote in her book that, quote, the ability to prevent and reverse, end quote, a variety of ailments, including infertility and Alzheimer's, is under your control and simpler than you think. And she dedicates the book to her mom, who died of pancreatic cancer, calling it a, quote, preventable metabolic condition. So the medical experts we spoke to say there's significant evidence that diet and exercise can lower the risk of some chronic conditions and slow the progression of other diseases. But they caution that she goes too far when she says it can reverse many of them.

[Elahe Izadi]

What does she say about this lack of trust in the current medical establishment? Because that does, as we say, seem to be part of her appeal and that she is speaking to something that is real and there are legitimate concerns about it.

[Lauren Weber]

I mean, look, chapter three of her book is titled trust yourself, not your doctor. You know, she speaks very clearly about needing to find your own individualized approach to medicine. And, you know, the doctors are not all knowing. It's a very interesting point coming from someone who would then be America's top doctor.

[Elahe Izadi]

You know, Lauren, this notion of if you only change what you eat or take these supplements or do x, Y and z, then you won't be have chronic illness or you can reverse your illness. That is a very compelling argument. And as you've said, there is evidence that shows that making these lifestyle changes does reduce risk. But does this overly imply that it's in an individual's hands that they can fix these conditions? Because bodies are really complicated.

[Lauren Weber]

Yeah, because of genetics and a whole variety of other things. Infectious disease. I mean, that's exactly the point many public health experts I spoke to flagged as a big concern they have about means message. I spoke to Georges C. Benjamin, who's a physician and longtime head of the American Public Health association, and he said for most diseases, there are very few absolutes. And the problem with a lot of our wellness advocates is they give people the impression that if you do some very simplistic things, you'll avoid some very bad things. Tragically, life just isn't that simple.

[Elahe Izadi]

And where is this criticism coming from? Is it partisan? Is it also just, you know, leading medical associations or doctors? You spoke to, like, where's the criticism coming from for her?

[Lauren Weber]

Some of her fiercest critics have been on the right. I mean, Jerome Adams was actually the surgeon general during Trump's first administration and he's come out pretty strongly against Casey Means. He told us, quote, RFK Jr. And Kasey means have a history of saying things in a direct and potentially misleading, often scientifically wrong way, which you can defend if you're just saying it as Casey means or as RFK Jr but are hard to defend if you're saying that as the HHS secretary or as a Surgeon General of the United States. It's important to note that in a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services called Means a, quote, world class physician and scientist whose nomination as Surgeon General reflects her deep understanding of modern metabolic health and her fierce commitment to evidence based care.

[Elahe Izadi]

And what has KC Means said about vaccines? Because I do think that's one of the biggest things that RFK Jr. Has been criticized for, for his position on vaccines and how he's handling vaccines.

[Lauren Weber]

You know, it's a great question. Do you know that in her book, which came out in the beginning of 2024, she does not mention vaccines one time. But in the fall of 2024, as the Kennedy orbit starts to consolidate, she starts talking about vaccines on podcasts. She has publicly questioned the culmination of the childhood vaccine schedule and the hepatitis B vaccine, which echoes talking points we've heard out of Kennedy. And she said on Joe Rogan's podcast.

[Casey Means]

It'S like with vaccines, it's like, yeah, I bet that one vaccine probably isn't causing autism, but what about the 20 that they're getting before 18 months? Like, we don't look at it in synergistic, you know, and so that's, that's a big problem.

[Lauren Weber]

Again, it's worth reiterating that there is no scientific link between vaccines and autism. Reams of scientific evidence show there is no link.

[Elahe Izadi]

And so how has Means responded to criticism about her?

[Lauren Weber]

Casey Means recently updated the about page on her website and it has a lot of response to a lot of the criticism, including this quote. Legacy media critics often dismiss her credibility because her message exposes institutional failures and calls for disruption. And her career trajectory has included periods without direct one to one patient care while pursuing work in preventative health that has reached tens of millions.

[Elahe Izadi]

So, Lauren, one thing that has already come up in our conversation is that Casey Means has been involved in companies that sell products or services that are not really in the medical mainstream. She has this book she's also pretty influential online. Do we know how much money she has made doing all of this? What do we know about that?

[Lauren Weber]

So, yes, actually, we went through her financial disclosures, and we found that she reported income from last year and into the summer of this year that she was paid more than half a million dollars for partnerships as well as book tour and newsletter sponsorships with companies that those financial forms described as selling, quote, diagnostic testing, herbal remedies and wellness products and teas, supplements and elixirs, just to name a few.

[Elahe Izadi]

So sponsorships and partnerships. What are some examples of that?

[Lauren Weber]

So in her newsletter or on social media, she'll talk about some of the supplements she takes. You know, in one example, she wrote in a newsletter, without identifying them as a book launch partner, that she was taking longevity supplements from the brand timeline. Now, she did include a link in the newsletter to a URL that identifies her as a partner for the brand. Those supplements, they cost $125. And at one point, there was a 10% off coupon code with her name, Casey. Additionally, she does unboxings for other things.

[Elahe Izadi]

Oh, like unboxing videos?

[Lauren Weber]

Like, yes, unboxing videos for a diagnostic test about, you know, different nutrition things. But, I mean, at the end of the day, she's been paid a fair amount of money for a lot of these sponsorships. And the concerns from some of the ethics and advertising folks that we spoke to said that she blurred sponsorship lines because she, you know, while she says she only promotes products that she researches herself, she sometimes did not disclose that she was receiving sponsorships or partnerships with these folks when talking about taking them.

[Elahe Izadi]

So tell me about that. Has this administration said anything about the ethical obligations there?

[Lauren Weber]

HHS has told us that she will comply with all ethical requirements. But the hang up for some legal and advertising experts we spoke to was their concern that a Surgeon General pick was involved in this kind of promotional activity. And they questioned whether Means's disclosures were adequate to meet guidelines set by the Federal Trade Commission. You know, the FTC oversees the enforcement of rules against deceptive marketing practices.

[Elahe Izadi]

So this tie between business making money and someone's position as an expert in health or medicine, has that come up with past Surgeon General picks or is this pretty unique?

[Lauren Weber]

You know, past surgeon generals have definitely come under fire for different financial ties. You know, Vivek Murthy, who served under both Obama and Joe Biden, received criticism as he was a coronavirus consultant to cruise lines and other industries while also advising Biden's campaign. But what stands out here. And what's I think unique about the Trump administration is means focus on supplements. And kind of in this space, I think it's worth noting that several of Trump's inner circle have promoted supplements. Trump himself had a supplement line at one point. Kash Patel, the FBI director, had promoted supplements at one point. And you've got Mehmet Oz, who's the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has certainly promoted many supplements as we've talked about on this podcast. So, I mean, I think it says something about the Trump administration that there is kind of this coalescence with the wellness space.

[Elahe Izadi]

So Means is going to be up for her confirmation hearing this week in front of members of Congress. Will she be confirmed? Do we expect that to happen?

[Lauren Weber]

Kennedy faced a confirmation fight and he was still confirmed. So I think she's widely expected to likely be confirmed. That said, a lot of senators are unhappy with the current direction of the health of the country under Kennedy. And you could see this pic being a referendum on his choices. And I think we could see quite a fiery hearing. But ultimately, I think people would be surprised if she doesn't end up being confirmed.

[Elahe Izadi]

So if she is confirmed, Lauren, what do you expect from kasi means, U.S. surgeon General?

[Lauren Weber]

We're not sure yet. We'll have to see. I mean, she said pretty openly that she would hope to focus the country on healthier eating, which is something that some of the medical experts I spoke to were really excited about. They felt like if she directed them towards that, that could be great. Where they're concerned on is if she states things that are outside of the proven science. KC Means being confirmed would really cement the rise of Maha. It would cement the rise of this pushback on mainstream medicine. And that challenge is coming at a time that Secretary Kennedy is upending it. I mean, he's stripping away some of the very foundational pieces of it. According to the medical experts we've spoken to, he's gone after the vaccine schedule and he's fired public health officials. And he's really just changed the status quo for health in America. And to confirm Kasey Means and to make her surgeon general, as someone that, you know, seems to, as some of the medical experts we spoke to said, go beyond the science really could have consequential impacts for American health going forward.

[Elahe Izadi]

Well, Lauren, thank you so much for joining and sharing your reporting. I really appreciate it.

[Lauren Weber]

Thanks for having me.

[Elahe Izadi]

Lauren Weber is a health and science accountability reporter for the Post. That's it for Post Reports. Thanks for listening. You can find more of this kind of exclusive reporting at the Washington Post. And right now, a premium subscription to the Washington Post comes with three extra accounts for you to share so you get your login and three more accounts to give away. And right now, you can get all of that with a single payment of just $33 for the entire first year. That renews at $170 thereafter. And you can cancel anytime. Go to washingtonpost.com subscribe again. That's washingtonpost.com subscribe. We'll put a link to that in our show.

[Lauren Weber]

NOTES.

[Elahe Izadi]

Today's episode was produced by Ilana Gordon. It was edited by Rena Flores and mixed by Sam Behr. Thanks to Rachel Rubine, Juliet Alprin, Lynn Bowie and Elisa Shadia Kafta. I'm Elahe Izadi. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories from the Washington Post.

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