TJ Madsen is among the founding members of the New Herald Tribune and chairs the editorial board. He worked for national syndicated newspapers in Newark, Philadelphia, and Baltimore before moving to the midwest.
February 26 , 2026
Washington — Dr. Casey Means, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for U.S. Surgeon General, offered unexpected remarks on the herbicide glyphosate during her Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday, suggesting the widely used chemical could have potential therapeutic effects against COVID-19 and autism spectrum disorders.
Means, a physician and wellness entrepreneur who leads the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” public health initiative, made the comments in response to questions from senators about environmental factors and public health. While she reiterated her support for continued scientific inquiry, her remarks diverged from established public health consensus and prompted bipartisan reaction.
“Emerging hypotheses about how environmental exposures interact with viral pathogenesis and neurodevelopment merit rigorous study,” Means told the committee. “There’s early lab data suggesting compounds like glyphosate influence cellular pathways relevant to SARS-CoV-2 replication and neural inflammation. It’s too soon to draw conclusions, but I believe this warrants thorough investigation.”
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in many herbicides, including the widely known product Roundup, and is primarily used in agriculture to control weeds. Federal health agencies and international bodies have long studied its safety profile, generally concluding that at typical exposure levels it is unlikely to pose significant health risks to humans. Independent scientists and public health officials have not endorsed glyphosate as a treatment for viral infections or neurodevelopmental conditions, and current medical evidence does not support such use.
Means’s comments came amid broader scrutiny of her views on vaccines, chronic disease prevention, and environmental health. During the hearing, she emphasized the need for research into environmental contributors to chronic conditions such as autism and long COVID, and said that “science is never settled,” even where substantial evidence already exists. That phrasing drew particular attention when she declined to directly state that vaccines do not contribute to autism, an assertion backed by extensive scientific research.
Republican and Democratic senators alike acknowledged Means’s enthusiasm for expanding research, but some voiced concerns about mixing exploratory scientific language with public health messaging. “We have to be careful that calls for further study do not unintentionally lend credibility to unsupported claims,” said one committee member.
Public health experts outside the hearing echoed that sentiment. A spokesperson for a national epidemiological organization, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that “hypotheses about therapeutic uses of agricultural chemicals need to be grounded in peer-reviewed evidence before being discussed in this context.”
Means’s hearing also touched on other contentious topics, including vaccine recommendations, pesticide regulation, and her past advocacy in wellness circles. While she defended her qualifications and highlighted her focus on diet and preventive health, some senators questioned her alignment with controversial positions that differ from conventional public health guidance.
The committee did not vote on her nomination on Wednesday. Should she be confirmed by the Senate, Means would become the nation’s next Surgeon General, charged with guiding public health communication and policy at a critical juncture for U.S. health systems.
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