Two Republican senators have left Casey Means without private meetings, stalling her confirmation and raising doubts about RFK Jr.’s influence over MAHA.
The selection of Casey Mins for the position of United States Surgeon General has been underway for over a month. She is seeking private meetings with two Republican senators who could block her confirmation. However, such meetings have not yet taken place: according to two sources familiar with the matter, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins remain undecided on how they will vote.
Murkowski told CNN in mid-March that she was not “thrilled with her.”
The skepticism of Republican senators effectively derailed Mins’s nomination, dealing a blow to the efforts of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative.
This is yet another setback in Kennedy’s series of failures, as in recent months he has been losing influence among Republicans and risks becoming a problem in future elections. At the same time, MAHA supporters express disappointment that the administration has abandoned their main goals, and they pledge responses in the midterm elections.
The situation has changed significantly compared with Kennedy’s first term, when he was considered an influential ally. Then his position was supported by some senators, as he advocated vaccination policy and promised to reduce the incidence of common illnesses among children.
Under the new circumstances, Mins’s vote to take on a proxy role in opposing Kennedy himself, whose vaccination policy drew criticism from across the Republican ranks.
“The truth is I have been looking for a way out for months. This is a real mess.”
– Robert Malon
Analysts note that discussions about approving Mins fuel speculation about possible resignation or sidelining her to a minimum role. The President, answering reporters’ questions during a Sunday meeting, said that such a step “would be possible,” adding: “We certainly have many excellent candidates for this post.”
On Monday, the White House reiterated its support for Mins and urged the Senate to confirm her nomination “without further delay,” said spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
The HHS spokesperson emphasized that Mins “delivered a vital message for public health, for which people voted,” expressing hope for her swift confirmation.
Inside HHS, Kennedy and his team are seeking to balance increasing White House oversight of policy with MAHA’s messaging, which insists on keeping campaign promises.
Tensions are playing out publicly: some MAHA allies publicly criticize the problems at the federal health agency.
In March, a Massachusetts court effectively blocked Kennedy’s expanded list of pediatric vaccines and paused most appointments to the Immunization Practices Board. Dr. Robert Malon stepped down from the panel after this decision; the administration has not yet filed an appeal.
“The truth is I have been looking for a way out for months. This is a real mess.”
– Robert Malon
“Kennedy described Malon and other committee members as highly qualified scientists, leading public health experts, and some of the foremost doctors in America” at their appointments in June of last year, according to sources close to the administration.
Over the past months, the White House has sought to strengthen influence over HHS: in February, four senior positions with experience in pricing and drug access were filled. After criticism from some senators, the administration has highlighted its achievements in drug pricing and consumer initiatives such as the TrumpRx platform.
However, Kennedy does not hide his disappointment with the administration’s actions: “This is not something I was particularly happy about. Let’s put it this way, cautiously,” he said during a February conversation with host Joe Rogan.
Echoes in Health Policy and the Future of MAHA
Typically, the appointment of the U.S. Surgeon General requires broad Senate support. But Mins’s hearing in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in February revealed rifts between moderate Republicans and MAHA supporters.
Chairman Cassidy immediately questioned her stance on vaccines, including hepatitis B, pushing Mins toward clearer answers. Meanwhile Murkowski expressed concerns about vaccination rates, and Democrats questioned the candidate’s personal beliefs.
“This is not a question I intend to complicate,” Mins replied during the hearings.
Cassidy, a physician by training himself, has not yet decided how he will vote, but remained one of the loudest critics of Kennedy’s vaccination policy among Republicans. He emphasizes that the Surgeon General’s role should be a combination of effectiveness and a clear communicative approach that reduces public distrust and confusion about health care and government policy.
“The Surgeon General should be an effective and truthful communicator, a calm voice of reason, with experience and resilience in times when many, for various reasons, sow distrust and confusion,” Cassidy said. “Casey Mins should make this her mission – to restore stability and reassure Americans that health care is the number one priority”
