Far-right activist Laura Loomer has launched a fresh attack on Dr Casey Means, calling US President Donald Trump’s surprise nominee for US surgeon general a “failed doctor” unfit for the role. In a post on X, Loomer questioned the qualifications of the Stanford-educated physician-turned-wellness influencer, accusing her of misleading the public about her credentials and lacking the legal authority to practice medicine.“You need a license to cut hair in America, but not to be the US surgeon general?” Loomer wrote, while sharing a clip from her podcast Loomer Unleashed featuring Texas-based ENT specialist Dr Mary Talley Bowden.In the segment, Bowden echoed Loomer’s concerns, saying, “This is an opportunity for the government to help restore trust by sending out a messenger who is credible. And to be credible, you have to be credentialed.” Bowden noted that Means “did not complete her training” and “has not maintained her license,” meaning she “can’t write prescriptions” and lacks essential clinical experience.As per the New York Times, Dr Casey Means completed four years of surgical residency but left before becoming a board-certified practitioner. She pivoted to “functional medicine” and launched a health tech startup, Levels, while building a prominent online presence. She is known for promoting “natural” health interventions, often criticising traditional medicine and pharmaceutical treatments.Loomer has mocked Means for her unconventional wellness advice, claiming in a separate post that she “uses shrooms as ‘plant medicine’ and talks to trees!” and “doesn’t even have an active medical license.” She accused Robert F Kennedy Jr, Trump’s health secretary and Means’ longtime ally, of pushing “quackery disguised as cutting-edge health policy.”“This is nothing more than quackery… Seems like MAHA has been hijacked,” Loomer said, referring to Trump and Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.Trump chose Means after abruptly withdrawing his first nominee, Dr Janette Nesheiwat, who had faced questions about her medical background. Trump said Means had “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials” and would help “eradicate chronic disease.”Kennedy, for his part, has dismissed the backlash as “absurd,” arguing that Means “inspires Americans to rethink our health care system.” Her brother, Calley Means, a White House adviser and former food lobbyist, was quoted by the New York Times as saying that Casey left the medical system because she “had a clear moral insight that her patients were not getting better.”Still, critics say her lack of licensure and embrace of fringe therapies are disqualifying. “Appointing Casey Means… means a surgeon general that will put a fringe practitioner of unproven functional medicine in charge,” ethicist Arthur Caplan was quoted as saying by the Times, calling it “irresponsible.”While federal law does not require a practising license for the role, major medical groups have remained silent on her nomination. But as Loomer’s attacks grow louder, Trump’s latest pick for “America’s doctor” is already facing a fierce political and scientific test.
