Surgeon General Nominees

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Casey Means, Trump's surgeon general nominee and RFK ally, grilled on vaccines in Senate confirmation hearing

Casey Means is an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and an advocate for his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.

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Grok

Q
Did Casey Means ever graduate from an accredited medical school? Did she ever become a licensed DO or MD?

A
Yes, Casey Means graduated from an accredited medical school. She earned her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from Stanford University School of Medicine in 2014. Stanford is a fully accredited institution, and multiple sources—including Stanford's own statement about her as an alum, her official biography, Wikipedia, and various news reports—confirm her graduation with an MD. She was recognized as a distinguished scholar, inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and published peer-reviewed articles during her time there

.No, she did not become a licensed DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine)—she is an MD, not a DO. More importantly, while she obtained a full MD medical license in Oregon (license MD191266, granted around 2014/2018 based on records), it is currently inactive. Public records from the Oregon Medical Board show it as inactive (voluntarily placed on inactive status since around 2019 or later, with sources citing January 2024 in some cases), meaning she is not authorized to practice medicine, prescribe medications, or treat patients at this time. She did not complete her full otolaryngology (ENT) surgical residency at Oregon Health & Science University, dropping out near the end (after about four years of the five-year program), which is why she is not board-certified.

This information comes from reliable sources like the Oregon Medical Board verification, Stanford Medicine statements, her own website and LinkedIn, and coverage in outlets such as Wikipedia (citing sources), AP News, NPR, PBS, and others. She has openly discussed shifting away from clinical practice to focus on wellness, functional medicine, and entrepreneurship (e.g., co-founding Levels Health), and she has stated she has no plans to reactivate her license. Note that the U.S. Surgeon General role (for which she has been nominated/considered in recent contexts) does not strictly require an active medical license, though her inactive status and incomplete residency have drawn scrutiny regarding her qualifications.