Casey Means: Murkowski Sank My Nomination

Sen. Lisa Murkowski delivered the coup de grâce in ending the nomination of Casey Means, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s choice for surgeon general, Means told POLITICO Thursday.

The Alaska Republican told the Trump administration this week she was a “no” on the nominee, Means said, effectively dooming her chances of winning the Senate Health Committee’s approval, a prerequisite for confirmation.

Means’ withdrawal is a blow to Kennedy, who made an impassioned plea for her confirmation two weeks ago, calling her “the most articulate, eloquent and erudite evangelist” of his Make America Healthy Again movement, which seeks to combat the causes of chronic disease.

Kennedy also called out her opponents for a “lack of integrity” and “lack of courage” and said it was indicative of “the tribalism that is polarizing and destroying our country.”

Murkowski had questioned Means about her vaccine views at a February confirmation hearing and told POLITICO shortly after she couldn’t commit to voting for her. During her February testimony, Means stopped short of encouraging vaccines for children, while also saying vaccines “save lives.”

The Make America Healthy Again influencer said she believed two other Republicans, Senate Health Committee Chair Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine, also opposed her nomination.

“Three Republican senators chose to block my nomination moving through the health committee,” she said. “In doing so, [they] really put a vote towards the status quo, rather than rise into this monumental occasion to work to evolve our broken health care system and have a bigger conversation about why Americans are so sick.”

But when pressed for more details about how President Donald Trump came to pull her nomination on Thursday, Means said a Monday call with Murkowski and Collins intended to address their concerns resulted in Murkowski eventually informing the administration that she would oppose Means’ nomination.

“I was able to get on the phone with Sen. Collins and Sen. Murkowski and try to bridge understanding,” Means said. “Then it became clear over recent days that it would not move out of committee."

Joe Plesha, a spokesperson for Murkowski, confirmed the senator’s meeting with Means on Monday, adding that Murkowski expressed reservations about the nomination during the call.“Those reservations were unchanged following that call,” he said.

Collins did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Collins had questioned Means skeptically during her confirmation hearing about Means’ past use of psychedelic drugs, which she detailed in her book Good Energy.

Some in the Make America Healthy Again movement consider the book the “MAHA bible” because it makes the case for addressing root causes of disease like poor sleep, diet and exercise.

The behind-the-scenes account of Means’ demise complicates the Trump administration’s public messaging. On Thursday, Trump and Kennedy accused Cassidy alone of blocking the nomination.

“Despite Senator Cassidy’s intransigence and political games, Casey will continue to fight for MAHA on the many important Health issues facing our Country,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media site, encouraging Louisiana voters in a separate post to vote Cassidy out of office in his upcoming Republican primary.

Trump in January endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow over Cassidy in Louisiana’s May primary. Trump has blasted Cassidy’s decision to vote in 2021 to convict him of inciting a riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6 of that year. Trump was acquitted of the charge.

While Cassidy declined repeatedly to publicly share where he stood on Means’ nomination over the last two months, Means said the pair had met once before her hearing, during which Means said Cassidy tried to focus the conversation on vaccine policy.

A Thursday post to X from a Senate Health Committee account, overseen by Cassidy, said she did not have the votes in either the committee — on which Republicans hold a one-seat majority — or on the Senate floor, where the GOP margin is three.

Cassidy, a liver doctor, is Kennedy’s top Republican critic on Capitol Hill, frequently criticizing the secretary’s attempts to change federal vaccine guidance.

Cassidy, Collins and Murkowski previously had expressed reticence about Trump’s first nominee to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, former Florida GOP Rep. Dave Weldon, at least in part over concern Weldon was not a strong advocate of vaccination. The White House withdrew Weldon’s nomination in March 2025.

Trump on Thursday nominated Nicole Saphier, a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and former Fox News medical contributor, as Means’ replacement for the post.

Cheyenne Haslett and Carmen Paun contributed to this report.