The Senate confirmation hearing for Dr. Casey Means, President Trump’s pick for surgeon general, was postponed today after Means was suddenly rushed to the hospital.
However, the immediate medical care for Means was good news as she was whisked to the hospital after she went into labor with her first child, a health committee spokesperson confirmed in a statement.
“Everyone’s happy for Dr. Means and her family,” said Emily Hilliard, deputy press secretary for the Health and Human Services Department.
“This is one of the few times in life it’s easy to ask to move a Senate hearing.”
The welcome news for Means came just hours before the 38-year-old Means, who has been pregnant with her first child, was set to appear virtually with the committee for her confirmation hearing.
Means was nominated to the position in May, after Dr. Janette Nesheiwat’s nomination was withdrawn by the White House just before her confirmation hearing.
Means rose to prominence as a Stanford-educated physician turned wellness influencer.
Prior to being tapped as surgeon general, Means co-founded Levels, a health app that can connect to glucose monitors.
However, it was her large following online for writing about health and wellness that catapulted her rise to the nation’s top doctor.
She has also written about how, after attending Stanford Medical School and training to become a surgeon, she opted to leave “traditional medicine” to devote her life to “tackling the root cause of why Americans are sick.”
Means is a close ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and along with her brother, Calley Means, played a key role in coordinating Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump, according to some of Kennedy allies who were involved in the transition.
Both Means and her brother became prominent in recent years after viral interviews decrying the influence of the food and drug industry.
Means was expected to address during today’s hearing issues brought forth by her critics, including conflict of interest issues related to her wellness promotions.
According to public financial disclosures, Means made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting health and wellness products, including specialty basil seed supplements, teas and elixirs, probiotic products and a prepared meal delivery service.
An AP report found that while recommending these products, she at times failed to disclose that she could profit or benefit from the sales.
However, in a recent ethics filing, Means said that if she is confirmed for the post by the full Senate, she will resign from her position with Levels and forfeit or divest stock options and stock in the company.
The surgeon general oversees 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, and helps set the national agenda on public health.
It was not immediately clear when the hearing would be rescheduled, according to the Associated Press (AP).