Topline
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s former running mate Nicole Shanahan claimed on X she thinks there’s someone “controlling” the health secretary’s decisions—and specifying it wasn’t President Trump—as she lashed out against Trump’s controversial pick for Surgeon General, Casey Means.
Then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (right) with running mate Nicole Shanahan during … More
Key Facts
Shanahan, the ex-wife of billionaire Google cofounder Sergey Brin, posted on X on Wednesday night after Trump announced Means as his nominee nominated for Surgeon General, after his first choice withdrew her nomination.
The pick is “very strange” and “doesn’t make any sense,” Shanahan wrote on X, claiming she was “promised that if I supported RFK Jr. in his Senate confirmation” as health secretary that neither Means or her brother Calley Means—now an advisor to Kennedy—”would be working under HHS or in an appointment (and that people much more qualified would be).”
Shanahan wondered whether “RFK very clearly lied to me, or what is going on,” claiming, “It has been clear in recent conversations that he is reporting to someone regularly who is controlling his decisions (and it isn’t President Trump).”
She went on to describe the Means siblings as having “something very artificial and aggressive about them,” likening them to being “bred and raised Manchurian assets.”
HHS directed Forbes to Kennedy’s post on X responding to Means’ nomination, in which he described Means as a “breath of fresh air” who was “born to hold this job” and claimed she “will provide our country with ethical guidance, wisdom, and gold-standard medical advice even when it challenges popular orthodoxies.”
Who Is Nicole Shanahan?
Shanahan is a Silicon Valley lawyer and entrepreneur who gained prominence and wealth from her marriage to Google cofounder Sergey Brin. The pair later divorced in 2023—allegedly because Shanahan had an affair with Elon Musk, which both have denied—and are wealth is Forbes estimates her wealth as possibly close to $1 billion. She became Kennedy’s running mate during his failed 2024 presidential campaign, running as an Independent after previously donating to Democrats, and without previous political experience. She has maintained a combative political profile since, even threatening to fund primary opposition against any senator who voted against Kennedy’s confirmation. Like Kennedy, Shanahan has expressed skepticism about vaccines and support for “alternative” medicine, and The Daily Beast notes she has also recently shared conspiracy theories about chemtrails released into the air by the government.
Why Is Trump Surgeon General Pick Casey Means So Controversial?
Means is a wellness influencer best known for founding the company Levels, which provides wearable glucose monitors for tracking blood sugars, and for authoring the book “Good Energy,” which NPR notes rails against “traditional” medicine’s ability to combat chronic illness. She is considered to be part of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement that eschews traditional evidence-backed medicine in favor of more alternative treatments, with The New York Times noting she has also expressed skepticism of vaccines. Means’ appointment has become controversial even among some on the right, with far-right activist Laura Loomer decrying her as a “WOO WOO WOMAN” on X on Thursday. Trump told reporters Thursday he had picked Means as surgeon general because of Kennedy, saying he picked her because “Bobby really thought she was great,” adding, “I don’t know her, I listened to the recommendation of Bobby.”
Surprising Fact
Shanahan’s post decrying Means comes after she previously praised the new surgeon general nominee and her brother. “Calley and Dr. Casey Means, siblings on a mission to end corruption and help Make America Healthy Again,” Shanahan wrote on X on Sept. 6. Calley Means responded to the post, writing, “Thanks Nicole – we are inspired by you and proud to be on this mission.”
Key Background
Kennedy has been one of the most controversial members of Trump’s Cabinet, given his controversial views on vaccines. His agency has drawn scrutiny since taking office for steps like floating a registry of Americans with autism and announcing changes for vaccine approval, raising alarm among critics that the health secretary is molding the nation’s health services to fit his vaccine skeptic views. Trump announced Means as the surgeon general after his first nominee, Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, withdrew her nomination, which NPR reports was amid concerns about how she had represented her credentials as a physician. Trump said on Truth Social Wednesday that Nesheiwat will still serve in “another capacity” at HHS.
