1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I urge you to vote against confirming Dr. Casey Means as surgeon general. Her qualifications, business conflicts, and evasive testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee demonstrate she is unfit for this critical public health position. Dr. Means lacks the professional credentials necessary to lead over 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service. She dropped out of surgical training before becoming a head and neck surgeon, stopped seeing patients years ago, and does not currently hold an active medical license. Dr. Georges Benjamin, CEO of the American Public Health Association, stated plainly that "She is less qualified professionally than any other surgeon general in history." Her testimony raised serious concerns about her commitment to evidence-based medicine. When asked by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy whether she would encourage mothers to vaccinate their children against measles and flu, she declined to give a direct answer. When pressed by Sen. Bernie Sanders about the debunked autism-vaccine link, she stated "science has never settled," undermining decades of research. These evasions are dangerous when measles outbreaks threaten communities across the country. The financial conflicts are equally troubling. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut questioned her about a pending FTC complaint alleging she violated rules by failing to disclose financial relationships to products she promoted. Murphy stated "in the majority of instances in which you were, as a medical professional, recommending a product, you were hiding the fact that you had a financial partnership." The surgeon general must be above reproach, not someone who runs a company selling supplements and wellness products while promoting continuous glucose monitors. Americans deserve a surgeon general with impeccable credentials, active clinical experience, and unwavering commitment to transparent, evidence-based public health guidance. Dr. Means does not meet this standard. I ask you to reject her nomination.