The Senate confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, has been postponed after the nominee went into labor with her first child, according to a spokesperson for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The hearing was scheduled for Thursday—just two days after her due date. Means, a Stanford-trained physician and bestselling author, was expected to make history as the first nominee to ever appear virtually before the committee, a move initially arranged to accommodate her pregnancy.
Means’ nomination has drawn national attention since Trump announced it in May, framing her as the face of what he’s called the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. The 38-year-old physician has built a devoted following through her book Good Energy and her wellness blog, where she advocates for a “root-cause” approach to medicine — prioritizing nutrition, movement, sleep, and environmental health over what she describes as the country’s overreliance on pharmaceutical interventions.
“Americans are sick not because of bad luck, but because of bad inputs,” she wrote in her 2023 book, which became a surprise bestseller among both wellness influencers and some members of the medical establishment seeking systemic reform.
Her nomination, though, has divided public health experts. Supporters see Means as an independent-minded physician willing to challenge the entrenched interests of Big Pharma. Critics have accused her of promoting pseudoscientific ideas like psychedelic therapies and warnings about hormonal birth control, and her call for greater regulation of pesticides.
Trump withdrew his previous nominee, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, in May following questions about her financial disclosures and conflicts of interest. Means’ nomination was viewed as a strategic reset — an appeal to younger voters and a health-conscious middle class that has drifted away from traditional party politics.
If confirmed, she will be the first surgeon general to give birth while awaiting Senate approval, and one of the youngest ever to hold the position.
“She embodies the balance of medical science and lived experience,” one aide close to the White House said Wednesday. “Her perspective on wellness is something this country could use.”
The Senate committee has not yet announced a new date for the hearing.
