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Means Withdrawn, Saphier Named
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he was pulling Dr. Casey Means’ nomination for U.S. surgeon general and replacing her with Dr. Nicole Saphier, ending “months of speculation” about whether the Senate would confirm Means.
“President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a new nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier, putting an end to months of speculation about whether the Senate would confirm his prior pick, Dr. Casey Means.”
NBC News reported that Trump said Saphier would be his new nominee, and that if confirmed she would become “the nation’s top doctor, with the power to issue health advisories for the country.”
Trump’s announcement came as the Senate confirmation process for Means had “stalled” after a February hearing, with NBC News citing that Sen. Bill Cassidy said, “She didn’t have the votes to pass.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “Nicole is a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment while tirelessly advocating to increase early cancer detection and prevention,” and added, “She is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans.”
Rolling Stone described the move as Trump’s third attempt to fill the post, noting that “This is Trump’s third nominee for the surgeon general post.”
The Guardian likewise said Trump “pulled his nominee for US surgeon general, Casey Means, and announced a potential replacement,” and that Trump then said he was “instead nominating radiologist and Fox News contributor Dr Nicole Saphier for the post of US surgeon general.”
Why Cassidy Blocked Means
Across multiple outlets, the withdrawal of Means’ nomination was tied to Sen. Bill Cassidy’s role as chair of the Senate HELP Committee and to questions raised during Means’ February confirmation hearing.
NBC News said Cassidy “chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, where a vote on whether to advance Means’ nomination had stalled,” and quoted Cassidy saying, “The White House has known for a while she didn’t have the votes to pass.”
NBC News also reported that Trump blamed Cassidy in a Truth Social post, writing, “I nominated Casey, a strong MAHA Warrior, at the recommendation of Secretary Kennedy, who understands the MAHA Movement better than anyone, with perhaps the possible exception of ME!” and adding, “Nevertheless, despite Senator Cassidy’s intransigence and political games, Casey will continue to fight for MAHA on the many important Health issues facing our Country.”
CNN described the same sequence, saying Trump “pulled his embattled surgeon general nominee, Dr. Casey Means, amid questions over her vaccine views and announced his third pick for the role in Dr. Nicole Saphier.”
The Guardian said Means’ nomination had been stalled since a “bruising February confirmation hearing,” where “senators from both parties questioned her stance on vaccines and her decision to abandon her surgical residency,” and noted that Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins “left with unresolved concerns.”
CBS News similarly said Trump blamed Cassidy for stalling Means “in the wake of her confirmation hearing in February,” and quoted Trump writing, the Louisiana Republican “has stood in the way” of his pick.
Saphier’s Credentials and MAHA Ties
Trump’s replacement nominee, Dr. Nicole Saphier, is described by outlets as a radiologist and a Fox News contributor, with her institutional role centered at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and her public profile tied to “Make America Healthy Again.”
“Saphier is listed on Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's website as a radiologist and director of breast imaging at its facility in Monmouth County, New Jersey.”
NBC News said Saphier is “listed on Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's website as a radiologist and director of breast imaging at its facility in Monmouth County, New Jersey,” and that she “has also regularly appeared as a medical contributor on Fox News.”
Rolling Stone described her as “a radiologist at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s satellite facility in Middletown, New Jersey, and a Fox News contributor,” and added that she obtained her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine.
The Hill said Saphier “is a radiologist who has served as a Fox News contributor since 2018” and “is also the director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center-Monmouth,” while also noting she runs the “Wellness Unmasked” podcast.
The Guardian said Saphier is “a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering,” and described her as “the author of a bestselling 2020 book titled Make America Healthy Again: How Bad Behavior and Big Government Caused a Trillion-Dollar Crisis.”
NBC News also connected Saphier’s writing to the broader MAHA agenda by stating that “The title of Saphier's 2020 book,
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