Washington DC - Casey Means, President Donald Trump's nominee to be the nation's next Surgeon General, recently fielded questions about her anti-vaccine stance and lack of medical experience.

On Wednesday, Means testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, where she explained that she wants to focus her role on "restoring wholeness" to the US, which she described as a "nation with a broken heart."

"I believe that every American shares a core yearning to thrive and help their families thrive," Means said during the hearing.

"But we are asking people to make healthy choices in environments that are squarely structured against them," she added.

Throughout the hearing, Means was grilled about her controversial views on everything from pesticides to contraception and abortion.

Means, who is a staunch supporter of Trump's Health Secretary and Make America Healthy Again leader Robert F. Kennedy Jr., repeatedly dodged questions about her views on vaccines.

She has previously dismissed vaccines and pushed unfounded claims that they cause autism.

At one point, she made it clear that vaccines were "not the core" issue she planned to focus on if appointed.

According to The New York Times, Means is a wellness influencer with a vast audience.

While she did graduate from the Stanford School of Medicine, she dropped out of her medical residency months before it was scheduled to end – attributing her exit to disillusionment with the health care system and its incentives – and does not have an active license to treat patients.

Nonetheless, she still insists on being addressed as Dr. Means – though she has regularly urged her followers to trust themselves over their doctors.

During the hearing, she faced questions about her credentials, to which she assured lawmakers that she had unique experience that she would bring to her role.

"I have completed extremely thorough medical training, and I have the ability to use these experiences to communicate excellent public health information," she said.

Last May, Trump announced his nomination of Means, describing her as having "impeccable MAHA credentials," and said she would be working closely with RFK Jr. to "ensure a successful implementation of our agenda."

Kennedy also hailed the nomination, vowing that Means will be "a juggernaut against the ossified medical conventions that have helped make our people the sickest in the world at the highest cost per capita."