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The Hill
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Loomer spars with Surgeon General nominee's brother on X
Conservative advocate Laura Loomer is sparring on social media with the brother of President Trump's new nominee to serve as U.S. surgeon general. Loomer, who is known to speak with Trump and was seen as a player in the administration's decision to dismiss several national security staff members, railed against Casey Means' qualifications to serve as surgeon general after Trump pulled his original pick and nominated her to the position. On Friday, she and Calley Means, Casey Means' brother, continued their battle on X. Calley Means serves as a special government employee of the Department of Health and Human services led by Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. Both of the Means siblings are allies of Kennedy. Calley Means on Friday said he'd obtained information that Loomer was 'taking money from industry to scuttle President Trump's agenda,' he wrote in a Friday post on X. If that was incorrect, he invited Loomer to sue him and go to 'discovery,' tagging her in the post. Loomer responded in a lengthy post that said Means was 'full of s—' and argued he was trying to use his background in public relations to negatively impact her relationship with the president and the public. It made a litany of allegations against both Means siblings. 'You are a PR spin master (funny how you never talk about your career in PR and crisis management) and you are threatened by my access to President Trump and the fact that White House officials called me to discuss the posts I made about your sister,' Loomer wrote in her post. She accused Means of paying right-wing podcasters to back Calley Means for surgeon general 'despite her lack of qualifications.' 'Maybe you should sue me and we will find out in discovery,' Loomer than wrote. 'You are lashing out because your lies have actually made their way to the President.' Loomer also argued that Calley Means is a 'never Trumper,' arguing she has been with Trump from day one. Means fired back that the only time he had uttered the words 'never Trump' was during an appearance two months before last year's election on Joe Rogan's podcast where he argued that Trump must win the election and Never Trumpers must vote for him. 'She used this quote to imply the opposite,' he said of Loomer. 'I explicitly said that I didn't support Trump in 2016 to make the case to voters who were still on the fence out Trump in 2024. After this episode, I urged Joe to have Trump on and gave his producer the campaign's contact info,' he wrote. 'Before going into this Rogan episode, Casey and I prayed that we could communicate the existential nature of the chronic disease crisis and convince Americans to vote for President Trump – which Casey and I believe was existential,' he added, saying Casey Means was 'integral in forming messaging that contributed to millions of new' Make America Healthy Again voters. 'The fact that you would take this quote and show it to the White House to seed doubt about us shows what type of operator you are,' he added. 'Any pharma company in DC knows the best way to squash a nominee is to seed doubt about Trump loyalty. You took a quote where I was advocating for Trump on the most popular podcast in the world (quoted in a WSJ article explaining how MAHA voters are coming to Trump) and used to seed doubt about my loyalty to Trump. 'Who is paying you?'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UIC faculty hold rally to protest federal cuts, freezes
CHICAGO — Faculty from the University of Illinois Chicago held a rally Wednesday against federal cuts and freezes. Those that participated said if proposed cuts and freezes go through with regard to federal grants, not only will faculty and staff jobs be on the line, but student opportunities and vital programs that impact Chicago will be on the chopping block. Those working and doing research at UIC say they depend on funding from multiple agencies within the Department of Health and Human services to train the next generation of clinicians. They're researching topics that include life-saving treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes and how AI can be incorporated into health. They say the money that funds these projects could soon run out. The rally was part of a national one, with similar protests taking place in Boston, Atlanta and St Louis. More News, Weather and Headlines at The White House said last month it was pausing federal grants and loans as the Republican administration began an across-the-board ideological review. The freeze could affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted. 'The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,' said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. Democrats and independent organizations said the move was illegal because Congress had already authorized the funding. The Associated Press contributed to this report Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
