Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) grilled U.S. Surgeon General nominee Casey Means over her influencer partnership with companies she had recommended online on Wednesday, accusing the Trump administration nominee of not “telling the truth” about payments she received.

“Dr. Means, are you familiar with FTC policy that requires those who are recommending products online to disclose their financial connection to those companies?” questioned Murphy during a Senate confirmation hearing. “In particular, the document from the FTC says this: ‘If you endorse a product through social media, your endorsement message should make it obvious when you have a relationship with the brand.’ Are you familiar with that?”

After Means confirmed, “Certainly,” Murphy continued, “So, as you know, there is a pending complaint regarding your failure to adhere to those guidelines, that basically makes the contention, and this committee has verified the data that underlies their complaint, that you routinely violated this policy and that, in fact, in the majority of your posts for many of the products you recommend, you did not transparently reveal your financial connection.”

“That’s false,” protested Means.

“Well, I’ll give you an example,” shot back Murphy. “So, there’s a prenatal vitamin called WeNatal. Your filings before this committee show that you started receiving compensation in the Spring of 2024, and yet in September of 2024, you posted a video saying that you had no financial relationship to the company, just a big fan, and then in October you said, ‘Not sponsored, just love these.’ But in fact, you have documentation before this committee that showed when you said those things you had a financial relationship. You had already started receiving money from that company.”

Means insisted, “In any post where I said I am not receiving money, I had not been receiving money at that time.”

“But you had received partnership fees for this particular prenatal vitamin,” replied Murphy. “In fact, prior to September and October, you had posted partnership links in which you get compensated based on click-throughs, correct?”

Means denied the accusation, responding, “I am happy to whatever documentation you’re talking about, but I do not– it’s incorrect and it’s a false representation. And just to be very clear, I’ve spent the last several months working with the Office of Government Ethics to be fully compliant with this process. I take it very seriously.”

“Before, during, and after, if I am in office, I will be in full compliance with the Office of Government Ethics,” she concluded. “I think, as I’ve talked about, conflicts of interest are incredibly important to rectify if we’re in public service and I am fully committed to continuing to work with that.”

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The post ‘You Weren’t Telling the Truth’: Senator Grills Trump Administration Nominee Over Payments She Received For Endorsing Products first appeared on Mediaite.

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