President Donald Trump's pick for surgeon general is drawing the fury of longtime MAGA ally and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.
Loomer, a 9/11 Truther and self-described "Proud Islamophobe" who ran multiple failed bids for Congress in Florida and has frequently gained the president's ear, has taken to X to repeatedly attack Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, the sister-in-law of Trump's recently-dismissed National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
Part of the controversy stems from the fact that Nesheiwat appears to have falsified parts of her credentials, with a new report revealing that she was never certified in emergency medicine as she claimed, and that she earned her degree from the American University of the Caribbean rather than American University in Washington, D.C. Loomer's greater objection, however, appears to be her role in treating COVID patients in New York and promoting vaccination during the pandemic.
"In a screenshot below, @DoctorJanette said 'Vaccine hesitancy is a Global health threat,'" Loomer wrote on X. "She used her access to Fox News to promote the dangerous Covid vaccine, which is now killing millions of people. She tried to shame people who didn’t take the vaccine by calling them global health threats. Vaccines are a matter of PERSONAL HEALTH FREEDOM. 'Vaccine hesitancy' is a matter of PERSONAL FREEDOM AND LIBERTY! It is not a Global Health Threat. MY BODY MY CHOICE!"
Loomer went on to falsely claim that vaccines are linked to autism, and lamented, "I genuinely wish we had a different nominee that was more aligned with personal liberties."
On Monday, Loomer followed up with a post hopeful that she might have managed to sink the nomination.
"Interesting. As of this morning, @DoctorJanette Dr. Janette Nesheiwat no longer has 'nominee for US Surgeon General' in her X bio," wrote Loomer. "It was there before. Perhaps she’s out! Her Senate confirmation hearing was supposed to take place this Thursday."
