Trump’s surgeon general nominee short on votes to win confirmation 

Trump’s surgeon general nominee short on votes to win confirmation 

Following her confirmation hearing this week, President Trump’s surgeon general nominee Casey Means has yet to shore up the necessary votes to secure the position, with GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) still undecided. 

Murkowski and Collins have both indicated to reporters since the hearing that they are not yet “yes” votes. Both are members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. 

With HELP split 12-11 between Republicans and Democrats, a single “no” vote by a Republican would end Means’s nomination at the committee-level, assuming all Democrats vote against her. 

Murkowski, a staunch supporter of vaccinations, sought reassurances from Means during the hearing when it came to her stance on hepatitis B vaccinations at birth, a practice she previously referred to as a “crime.” 

“You have expressed the skepticism about the hep B vaccine for newborns, and I need to try to understand your thinking on that, given the medical consensus that this vaccine prevents this serious liver disease and liver cancer,” Murkowski said to Means. 

Referring to her past remarks, Means said, “I think they’re incompletely representing my views.” 

“This is an effective vaccine. I think it’s a very important vaccine,” she added. 

Collins’s time with Means scrutinized details about her personal life which she shared in her book “Good Energy.” In her book, Means touched on a past experience with psychedelic psilocybin mushrooms, in which she wrote of hearing an “internal voice” whisper to her. 

“Illicit drug use remains a huge problem in this country, and this didn’t happen in your teen years. According to your book, in 2021 you began using illicit psychedelic mushrooms,” noted Collins. 

Means gave a “do as I say, not as I do” response to the senator. 

“I believe what I would say as a private citizen is in many cases different than what I would say as a public health official,” said Means, adding that her book would “under no circumstances” be a recommendation to Americans.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, I’m Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

Senate Democrat: Trump pick ‘not qualified’ to lead National Security Agency

A senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said this week he would block the nomination of President Trump’s pick to lead the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command (Cybercom). Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in a letter submitted to the Congressional Record on Wednesday said Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd lacks the qualifications to helm the agencies …

Novartis settles with Henrietta Lacks’ estate over use of her ‘stolen’ cells to advance medicine

Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and reproduced in labs to enable major medical advancements, including the polio vaccine. Details of the agreement, which was finalized in federal court in Maryland this month, aren’t public. The Lacks family and Swiss-based …

Childhood obesity hits record: CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday revealed that childhood and teen obesity rates in the U.S. have reached record highs in recent years. The first report details how the CDC’s researchers found that 40.3 percent of adults 20 and older were found to be obese, which included 9.7 percent who have severe obesity and another 31.7 percent who are classified as overweight. This report was conducted …

Branch out with a different read:

Only 33 percent of schools have recovered in either math or reading 6 years after pandemic

New research found only 1 in 3 schools have recovered in either reading or math since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools nearly six years ago.   The number of schools that recovered in both subjects sits at around 14 percent, according to the NWEA, an education research group.  Schools that serve historically marginalized students are more likely to still be behind but have some of the biggest gains in recovery since the …

Local and state headlines on health care:

Changes to visa for skilled workers could create issues for Texas health care, health leaders say (Houston Public Media) 

Oklahoma AG orders Medicaid agency to withdraw proposed rule on dental extractions (KOSU) 

Louisiana lawmakers advance adult-use cannabis pilot bill (KQKI) 

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

‘Unbelievably dangerous’: experts sound alarm after ChatGPT Health fails to recognize medical emergencies (The Guardian) 

Despite U.S. pull out from WHO, reps were (virtually) at the table for big flu confab (NPR) 

Impacted by the estrogen patch shortage? Here are your options. (The 19th News) 

Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill:

Does RFK Jr. care that babies will needlessly die under his vaccination policies?

Americans don’t need announcements, they need lower drug prices

You’re all caught up. See you next week! 

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