WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump said Thursday he鈥檚 nominating radiologist and former Fox 小萝莉影视 Channel contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Dr. Casey Means鈥� path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines.
In a social media post, Trump said he would nominate Saphier, whom he called 鈥渁 STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment.鈥� Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. complimented the nomination, calling Saphier 鈥渁 long-time warrior for the MAHA movement.鈥�
But at least in one instance, she hasn’t been in lockstep with Trump’s thoughts on health policy, telling The Associated Press in September that his cautions about pregnant women taking Tylenol were oversimplistic and 鈥減atronizing.鈥�
Means’ withdrawal came after her with lawmakers of both parties threw into question whether she could secure enough votes to advance out of the Senate health committee.
In an interview Thursday, Means said her nomination fell apart after a 鈥測earlong smear campaign against me,鈥� which she said was a larger effort to impugn the MAHA movement and its focus on reforming food and healthcare.
She said she will continue to 鈥渉elp with progress on this movement how I can.鈥�
Means pitched ideas popular with MAHA
In nominating Means last May, Trump sought to hire a close Kennedy ally as the nation鈥檚 doctor. The 38-year-old Means, a Stanford-educated physician who became disillusioned with the health care system and pivoted to a career as an author and entrepreneur, popular with the MAHA movement, including that Americans are overmedicalized and that diet and lifestyle changes should be at the center of efforts to end widespread chronic disease.
But Means, who did not finish her surgical residency program and doesn鈥檛 currently have an active medical license, also had faced scrutiny for her lack of experience and . On top of those concerns, senators grilled her in February about Kennedy鈥檚 effort to pull back vaccine recommendations 鈥� leading to some contentious moments as Means toed the line between support for vaccines and calling them a decision best made by patients and their doctors.
In her confirmation hearing, Means was repeatedly asked about the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending for all children late last year in a move and during a lawsuit. Means has raised doubts about the birth dose, posting on social media in 2024 that giving the vaccine to a newborn whose parents don鈥檛 have hepatitis B was 鈥渁bsolute insanity.鈥�
Means’ nomination had languished since the late February confirmation hearing, even as activists from the MAHA movement orchestrated a push to support her bid by surging phone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. They had both indicated reservations with the pick.
Means told The Associated Press her understanding was that Murkowski wasn’t going to vote for her, and Collins had serious reservations.
鈥淚 think there was some talking past each other,鈥� Means said of her conversations with the senators, noting they seemed focused on vaccines when she 鈥渨asn’t coming in with any agenda to impact the vaccine conversation.鈥�
In post Thursday, Trump called Means 鈥渁 strong MAHA Warrior鈥� and also criticized the 鈥渋ntransigence and political games鈥� from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the chair of the Senate health committee, who is facing a tough reelection this year and who interrogated Means about vaccines during the hearing.
Means’ brother, Calley Means, a health adviser to the Trump administration, blamed Cassidy in a social media post, claiming his 鈥渃onstant delay tactics鈥� sank the nomination because he didn’t bring Means’ nomination to a committee vote. Kennedy later piled on with his own post claiming Cassidy 鈥渄id the dirty work for entrenched interests seeking to stall the MAHA movement.鈥� Cassidy didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Now Trump will try to fill the post a third time
Means is the second U.S. surgeon general pick whose nomination has been withdrawn in Trump鈥檚 second term. Trump withdrew his first nominee, Fox 小萝莉影视 medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, after questions were raised about her academic credentials.
Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, according to her profile on the New York-based institution鈥檚 website. She has a doctor of medicine degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados along with fellowships at the Mayo Clinic, the profile said.
Like Means, Saphier has questioned whether every child needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
鈥淚 don’t necessarily think it’s necessary,鈥� she in September. 鈥淢y opinion is if a woman recently tested negative for hepatitis B and they鈥檙e living a low-risk lifestyle, no IV drug use, not a sex worker, they don鈥檛 have a hepatitis B positive person living in the home, then the newborn probably doesn鈥檛 need this vaccine and we can have a conversation about whether or not they should get the vaccine later in life.鈥�
She also has criticized COVID vaccine booster requirements, arguing on a in September that they were not always rooted in evidence.
Saphier used the phrase 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥� years before Kennedy popularized it. It was the title of a book she wrote in 2020 that criticized government handling of health care and the Affordable Care Act.
In at least one case, Saphier has diverted from Trump鈥檚 medical messaging. Last year, as Trump advised pregnant women, 鈥淒on鈥檛 take Tylenol鈥� 鈥� promoting between the medication, vaccines and autism 鈥� Saphier said that while pregnant women generally are advised to take acetaminophen only under medical supervision, when necessary and at the lowest effective dose, equally important was that untreated fever or severe pain can also pose serious risks to mothers and babies. She noted that part was missing from Trump’s message, delivered at a press conference with top U.S. health officials.
鈥淔or decades, women have endured a paternalistic tone in medicine. We鈥檝e moved past dismissing symptoms as 鈥榟ysteria,鈥欌�� Saphier wrote in an email to the AP at the time. 鈥淭he President鈥檚 recent comments on Tylenol in pregnancy are a prime example. Advising moderation was sound; delivering it in a patronizing, simplistic way was not.鈥�
On a podcast at the time, Saphier said the press conference was 鈥渇ull of hyperbole鈥� and 鈥渞eally painful to watch.”
Saphier did not respond to a request for comment.
___ Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.
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