Dr. Janette Nesheiwat may no longer be up for the role of surgeon general, but she’ll still be part of the Trump administration, taking on a new, but vague, job in the Department of Health and Human Services.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed during an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier on Thursday evening that Nesheiwat would be headed to the agency.
“We’re going to put her at a very good place here at HHS,” Kennedy said.
But the health secretary declined to specify what exactly that role might be.
On X, Nesheiwat said she would work closely with Kennedy in “a senior policy role” to support the Make America Healthy Again agenda.
“My focus continues to be improving the health and well-being of all Americans, and that mission hasn’t changed,” Nesheiwat said.
The Independent has asked the Department of Health and Human Services for comment about Nesheiwat’s specific policy role.
President Donald Trump initially tapped Nesheiwat to serve as surgeon general, but later rescinded her nomination after reports questioned her resume and Trump’s close ally, conservative activist Laura Loomer, called for a new nominee.
Nesheiwat, a former Fox News medical contributor, is a family medical physician who claimed to have graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
But a report from an independent journalist found that she actually graduated from the American University of the Caribbean. The University of Arkansas verified that Nesheiwat completed her residency at the school, but was not granted a degree.
On top of that, Loomer, who has used her proximity to Trump to “vet” administration staff, denounced Nesheiwat for endorsing the Covid-19 vaccine.
Nesheiwat had promoted the Covid-19 in 2021 in an op-ed for Fox News. Approximately one year later, she told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that she opposed vaccine mandates for children.
Shortly after, Trump announced he would pull Nesheiwat’s nomination and instead nominated wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means to serve as surgeon general.
