WHYY24%
‘Should have been more transparency’: Top Delaware lawmakers to sign off on state job Gov. Matt Meyer created without their input 27%
By Sarah Mueller43%
8/6/2026, 4:12:36 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 17 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Pessimism Bias, and Slippery Slope, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 24% saturation with 144 hits. Analysis detected 759 faulty-reasoning hits from 599 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 31.6% and a BS Rank of 27% (21,362 of 28,911 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 73.90% of the article peer group.
Delaware’s top Democratic legislative leaders said Thursday they will approve Gov.
Matt Meyer’s new surgeon general position, despite their concerns the role was created and filled with little transparency.
The position’s salary and benefits is expected to total $270,000 a year.
Meyer established the state-level surgeon general within the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services through an executive order last month .
For the position, he tapped Neil Hockstein, an ear, nose and throat doctor who is also a close advisor and friend.
DHSS submitted the request to reclassify a nursing supervisor role into the surgeon general position to the Department of Human Resources on July 1, hours after sleep-deprived lawmakers left Legislative Hall following an all-night final day of session.
It has been sitting in the Controller General’s Office, pending lawmakers’ approval.
Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola and House Speaker Melissa “Mimi” Minor-Brown said Thursday they agreed to support the new position, despite being blindsided by Meyer’s move and not getting a commitment from his office for more cooperation with lawmakers.
Sokola and Minor-Brown met Wednesday with Controller General Ruth Ann Miller and DHSS Secretary Christen Linke Young.
No representative from Meyer’s office was present.
“The speaker and I conveyed concerns that the position was not discussed during the legislative budget process in May and June, only to be decreed by executive order, despite the responsibility of the legislature to reclassify the position before it could be created,” Sokola said in a statement.
Minor-Brown told WHYY News she had a great conversation with Young, but said she would like to see more transparency and collaboration from the administration.
“We have not had much communication with the governor’s office on these initiatives, but I’m hoping that that improves because, as you can see, we have to work together to get things done,” she said.
When WHYY News asked the governor at a bill signing ceremony Thursday if his office could have worked with state lawmakers on creating this position, Meyer instead read from a statement on his phone that railed against President Donald Trump and U.S.
Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. for “abandoning a commitment to science and medicine.”
Several of the lawmakers who spoke to WHYY News said the issue is not that Hockstein lacks the credentials for the job.
“We all believe that Dr.
Hockstein is a tremendous choice for this role,” Sokola said in his statement.
“The speaker and I simply believe there should have been more transparency with both the legislature and the public about the need for the position and the ongoing cost to create it.”
The speaker said she has not had any discussions with Meyer on Hockstein’s hiring.
“I’m very supportive of creating this role, but I just want to make sure that we’re having conversations from the beginning, so that we can get those questions answered prior to executive orders and things being announced to the public and getting the surprise the same day,” she said.
Sokola said in his statement that while not a formal confirmation hearing, Hockstein has agreed to testify in public before the Senate Executive Committee during a special session this fall.
“With that assurance, the speaker and I intend to work with the controller general and the administration to finalize the reclassification in the coming days,” he said.
“We look forward to working with Gov.
Meyer, Secretary Young, and Dr.
Hockstein and improving health care outcomes for all Delawareans.”
Speakers
3speakers47%attributed speech316writer words
Selected voice
100%flagged-word coverageDonald Trump
10 attributed words3.5% of attributed speech66% writer coverage
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Analysis
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