Trump picks TV contributor Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Friday the appointment of Dr Janette Nesheiwat, a family medicine physician and Fox News contributor, as the next surgeon general, continuing his trend of naming television personalities to key positions in his administration.

"Dr Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health," Trump said in a statement. 

"She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives."

She treated patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, tended to victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes, and has worked for the Samaritan's Purse disaster relief organization providing care in Morocco, Haiti and Poland, Trump said.

Many Americans will know her as a Fox News contributor who has discussed issues such as the mpox strain, the effects of alcohol and drug use, or natural disaster relief. Trump has plucked a number of presidential appointments from Fox News programs, both in his first term from 2017-2021 and since being elected again on Nov. 5.

Communication skills are important to the job's role as health educator, providing information on how to improve health and lower the risk of illness.

The job title became part of American culture in 1965 when cigarette makers were required to label packages with the surgeon general's warning that smoking was hazardous to health.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who held the job from 1982 to 1989, gained prominence for seeking to break the stigma of speaking about AIDS at a time when the president who appointed him, Ronald Reagan, was criticized for underplaying the epidemic.