Maggie Haberman Tells Jake Tapper, ‘You May Have Just Answered Your Own Question’ as to Why Trump Pulled Controversial Nominee

CNN’s Maggie Haberman told Jake Tapper not to overthink the reason President Donald Trump withdrew his controversial nominee for surgeon general this week.

On Wednesday, Trump pulled his nomination of Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor, from consideration for the job. An independent journalist flagged multiple issues with her credentials, reporting that Nesheiwat “falsely represented or obfuscated facts about her medical education, board certifications, and military service” for at least 15 years. She was also criticized by MAGA luminary and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.

Trump has since nominated Casey Means, who has her own issues, as she dropped out of her medical residency and has an inactive medical license. When asked about this on Thursday, the president replied, “I don’t know her” and said she was the preferred choice of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“So, Casey Means’ name actually was initially in circulation for surgeon general right after the election,” Haberman said on Thursday’s edition of The Lead. “And a lot of people around RFK [Jr.] threw cold water on it and suggested this wasn’t going to happen. Obviously, Casey Means was not chosen, but it’s not surprising that the HHS secretary ended up back there. He has a relationship with the Means siblings. Callie Means actually worked with the Trump campaign as well, even before RFK endorsed the president. So, this is not a surprise. It does tell me that they are having some issues with certain staffing holes.

Tapper responded by noting that Nesheiwat is the sister-in-law of Mike Waltz, who was ousted as national security advisor after the infamous Signal scandal in which he accidentally added a reporter to a private group chat of government officials.

“Why did they withdraw the other person who was, I think, Mike Waltz’s sister-in-law?” the host said.

“I think you may have just answered your own question,” Haberman stated. “I think there were issues, questions about the education that that nominee had, but I think the connection to Mike Waltz was not seen as an asset, according to all of the people who I have spoken to. And I think that the Trump White House is feeling more comfortable relying on RFK [Jr.] for what he wants to put in place right now.”

Watch above via CNN.