Meet the siblings tapped for RFK's health agenda
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks while joining President Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on May 5 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Trump administration is staking its Make America Healthy Again agenda to a pair of health influencers with a major online following and little government experience.
Why it matters: Casey and Calley Means — allies of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have turned their disillusionment with the U.S. medical system into influence shaping American health policy.
One stunning stat: The siblings' appearance on Tucker Carlson's podcast was Apple Podcasts' most-shared episode of 2024.
- "I truly believe you guys are going to change the world," Carlson told the siblings in the interview that garnered millions of listens.
Catch up quick: Trump on Wednesday tapped Casey Means as his surgeon general nominee, withdrawing the nomination of Janette Nesheiwat.
- Her brother Calley Means is a White House adviser.
- The death of their mother, Gayle, of stage 4 pancreatic cancer during the pandemic, solidified their skepticism of the health care system they're crusading against, per Stat News.
The intrigue: Kennedy's former running mate, Nicole Shanahan, criticized Means' nomination.
- "I don't know if RFK very clearly lied to me, or what is going on," she wrote on X.
- Asked about his new nominee, Trump said he didn't know Casey Means. He had spoken about the siblings on Joe Rogan's podcast last October.
Here's what to know about the siblings.
Casey Means: surgeon general nominee
Casey completed her medical education at Stanford, but dropped out of an otolaryngology head and neck surgeon residency program in 2018 during her fifth year, per her LinkedIn profile.
- Her medical license is currently inactive, per the Independent.
- She said she left the residency to focus on "how to keep people out of the operating room," according to her website.
- Afterward, she went on to practice functional medicine, per the New York Times.
- Later, she co-founded Levels, a food logging and habit tracking application paired with glucose monitoring.
- She co-authored a book with her brother last year called "Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health."
Zoom out: Like Kennedy, she's focused on chronic disease in the U.S. She frames "metabolic dysfunction" as the root of chronic conditions.
- "You are the primary person in charge of understanding your body," her website said. "You may have been indoctrinated to think you're not capable of understanding your body or your lab tests, but this stops here."
Between the lines: Casey Means said in a blog post that the Trump administration should "increase unbiased research on the safety of the cumulative effects of vaccines."
- She referenced vaccine claims that have no basis in science linking them to autism in youth.
Calley Means: White House food policy adviser
Calley Means was tapped as a "special government employee" to implement the Trump admin's plan to address chronic illness. He is specifically focused on food policy, per Bloomberg.
- In April during an interview with Politico, he defended the administration's' cuts to research and science. In January, speaking with the Free Press, he focused on ultra-processed foods and Ozempic.
- His website calls the American health care system a "sick care system."
- "It is a big problem when the largest (and fastest growing) industry in the country is incentivized for us to be sick" he wrote.
Context: The startup founder's rise in conservative circles was swift, Bloomberg reported.
- He wants food to be considered medicine and for tobacco subsidies to go towards fruits and vegetables, per Stat News.
- He also pushed for an executive order calling for the end of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising.
Go deeper: Trump taps wellness influencer Casey Means for surgeon general
