Good Wednesday evening. In this edition: Surgeon general nominee faces pointed questions on vaccines at confirmation hearing.
Plus, State of the Union, Medicaid, Maryland redistricting, ROTOR Act and Summers.
Surgeon General
Dr. Casey Means, the president's nominee for surgeon general, told senators she would prioritize addressing the root causes of chronic disease if confirmed, describing preventable illness as a national crisis during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health Committee.
"Our nation is angry, exhausted and hurting from preventable diseases," she said. "We must confront this epidemic through a vision grounded in science, dignity, shared humanity and a respect for freedom — not politicization and division."
Dr. Means attributed rising rates of chronic illness to ultra-processed foods, industrial chemical exposure, lack of physical activity, chronic stress, loneliness and what she described as "overmedicalization."
"I believe that every American shares a core yearning to thrive and help their families thrive, but we are asking people to make healthy choices in environments that are squarely structured against them," she said. "Good policy and education can make health easier, more affordable and more accessible."
The 38-year-old attended Stanford medical school and began surgical training but said she chose to leave "traditional medicine" to study "the root cause of why Americans are sick."
A wellness influencer and health-tech entrepreneur, she has aligned herself closely with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose skepticism of parts of the public health establishment, particularly vaccines, has drawn scrutiny.
While many senators expressed agreement on the need to address diet-related disease, Dr. Means faced pointed questions from lawmakers in both parties about her views on vaccines.
She largely avoided questions about her specific views on vaccinations, instead saying that Americans should talk with their doctors before being immunized.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chair of the Health Committee and a physician, repeatedly pressed her on longstanding vaccines and whether she believes they are linked to autism.
"I believe vaccines save lives. I believe that vaccines are a key part of any infectious disease public health strategy," she said. However, she declined to recommend that all Americans receive vaccines such as the measles and flu shots, instead emphasizing "informed consent."
"I believe every patient, mother, parent needs to have a conversation with their physician," she said when asked whether she would encourage parents to have their children vaccinated against measles.
Sen. Cassidy said he was unclear what additional approach she was proposing, noting that pediatricians routinely discuss vaccines with parents before administering them.
"I'm not sure I know what you're advocating for, which of course gives pause," he said.
"Broadly speaking, I am very supportive of what's been laid out by this administration, in terms of vaccines," Dr. Means replied.
She also declined to rule out a potential connection between childhood vaccines and rising autism diagnoses, saying "science is never settled," despite extensive research finding no causal link between vaccines and autism.
"We have an autism crisis that is increasing, and this is devastating to many families, and we do not know, as a medical community, what causes autism," she said. "We should not leave any stones unturned."
Dr. Means is President Trump's second nominee for surgeon general after his first selection, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, was withdrawn following criticism from some of the president's allies.
She was initially scheduled to testify in October, but her hearing was postponed for four months after she went into labor.
If confirmed, she would serve as the nation's top doctor, overseeing more than 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
While the surgeon general does not directly set or enforce health policy, the role carries a prominent platform to shape public understanding of health issues and influence national conversations around disease prevention and public health science.
President Trumpdelivered the longest State of the Union address in history Tuesday night, declaring that he has led a "turnaround for the ages" in his first year back in office and proclaiming that the U.S. is "back." The speech, which ran 1 hour and 47 minutes, featured President Trump touting his economic record, criticizing Democrats, and rebuking the Supreme Court for ruling against his tariffs. He also tasked Vice President JD Vance with leading what he called a "war on fraud," warned of Iran's "sinister ambitions," celebrated the U.S. hockey teams' gold medal victories, and closed with an optimistic vision for the country's future. "These first 250 years were just the beginning," he said. "The golden age of America is upon us."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the president's address demonstrated he was out of touch with Americans. "Last night was not America's State of the Union. It was Donald Trump's state of delusion," he said in a floor speech Wednesday. "For two long hours, the president stood in the House chamber congratulating himself, inflating his own ego, but offering no solutions to our country's many problems." Sen. Schumer said Americans wanted to hear how the president was working to lower costs, not "a fantasy that everything is going great."
Vice President JD Vanceannounced the White House will "temporarily halt" some Medicaid funding to Minnesota as part of the administration's efforts to crack down on alleged fraud in the state. "What we're doing is we are stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that's being perpetrated against the American taxpayer," he said at a press conference alongside Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. The move comes a day after President Trump tasked his vice president with leading the administration's "war on fraud" during his State of the Union address.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) said efforts to redraw Maryland's congressional map are effectively dead after Tuesday's candidate filing deadline passed — a view shared by Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D), who opposed the proposed mid-decade redistricting plan. Gov. Wes Moore (D), however, called the filing cutoff an "artificial deadline" and said his team is working on a backup plan. "These are deadlines that are made by politicians," he told the Washington Post, noting they could be changed with a vote. Rep. Harris, who is the target of the redistricting effort, said he would challenge any attempt to alter the maps in federal court.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the ranking member of the Senate Transportation Committee, called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to hold a revote on the ROTOR Act after it was narrowly defeated Tuesday in a 264–133 vote — one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for passage. "I'm calling on Speaker Johnson to give the 26 members who were unable to participate in this vote because of weather in the northeast to allow them to come back, schedule another vote, and allow the United States House of Representatives to do its job," she said. The aviation safety bill, which she co-sponsored with Senate Transportation Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX), was drafted in response to the deadly January 2025 midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington National Airport.
Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary and former Harvard president, said he will step down from his teaching role at the university amid renewed scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. "I have made the difficult decision to retire from my Harvard professorship," he said in a statement. "I will always be grateful to the thousands of students and colleagues I have been privileged to teach and work with since coming to Harvard as a graduate student 50 years ago." The announcement comes months after documents released by the Justice Department showed Mr. Summers maintained a close relationship with Mr. Epstein long after the disgraced financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
For your radar…
Officials from the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and National Credit Union Administration testify Thursday on banking regulations before the Senate Banking Committee. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 10am ET.
