Overview
- Testifying before the Senate HELP Committee, the wellness entrepreneur and MAHA ally outlined a prevention-focused agenda as her long-delayed confirmation hearing finally opened.
- Senators pressed her on past remarks questioning parts of the childhood vaccine schedule during the largest U.S. measles outbreak since elimination, and she emphasized informed consent while asserting she does not promote anti-vaccine rhetoric.
- Asked by Republican Chair Bill Cassidy whether she would encourage flu and measles vaccination during active outbreaks, she declined to give a direct endorsement and reiterated a focus on patient–physician decision-making.
- Critics highlighted her departure from surgical residency and inactive Oregon medical license, with former Surgeons General Richard Carmona and Jerome Adams publicly voicing doubts about her readiness for the role.
- Ethics questions loomed over her co-founding of Levels and wellness endorsements, as disclosures show she left the company in 2023 and pledged to divest holdings, end consulting with a lab firm, and avoid promoting her book from the office.