President Donald Trump has selected Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor, as his new nominee for U.S. Surgeon General following the collapse of his previous candidate’s confirmation process.
The nomination comes after Dr. Casey Means withdrew from consideration when it became apparent she lacked sufficient Senate committee support to move forward with her confirmation.
Saphier works as director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth and holds credentials including a medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados and fellowships from the Mayo Clinic. She has received endorsement from medical organizations, with American College of Radiology President Dr. Dana Smetherman describing her Thursday as a “tireless advocate for women’s health.”
The radiologist has expressed support for various elements of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, particularly efforts to eliminate food additives, reduce consumption of ultraprocessed foods, and promote physical activity.
However, Saphier has demonstrated stronger support for vaccination programs compared to Kennedy and has occasionally criticized the Trump administration’s health policy management as “embarrassing.”
Should the Senate confirm her appointment, Saphier would gain authority to issue public health advisories and warnings. The surgeon general position traditionally serves as a platform for advocating vaccination policies, though it doesn’t establish vaccine requirements.
Means, the failed previous nominee who graduated from Stanford University but didn’t complete her surgical residency in Oregon and maintains an inactive medical license, faced intense questioning from senators across party lines regarding her qualifications and vaccination positions. She attributed her unsuccessful nomination to what she called a “yearlong smear campaign.”
Saphier joins several Fox News personalities Trump has recruited for his administration. His initial surgeon general selection, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, also worked as a network contributor before her nomination collapsed amid questions about her academic background.
Beyond her medical practice, Saphier hosts a podcast called “Wellness Unmasked with Dr. Nicole Saphier” and has authored books. She actually used the phrase “Make America Healthy Again” years before Kennedy adopted it, featuring it as the title of her 2020 book that criticized government healthcare management and the Affordable Care Act.
As a mother of three sons, Saphier frequently discusses her decision to continue an unexpected pregnancy at age 17 and advocates for increased support for mothers making similar choices.
Like Means, Saphier has raised questions about certain aspects of childhood vaccination schedules, specifically questioning the universal hepatitis B vaccine given at birth – a long-standing recommendation the Trump administration has attempted to modify.
She shares Kennedy’s opposition to COVID-19 vaccination mandates in schools, stating on her September podcast that such requirements were “a complete disaster” and contributed to declining vaccination confidence.
While supporting immunization generally, Saphier argues patients should retain autonomy over medical decisions. In March, she commended acting CDC Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for encouraging Americans to receive measles vaccinations.
“The more vaccine confusion we create, the more preventable disease we will see,” she stated in September, urging the administration to establish clearer policies “because it’s really upsetting.”
Despite generally supporting the Trump administration, Saphier has publicly criticized several health-related missteps. Last summer, she condemned the administration’s initial MAHA report, which referenced hundreds of studies, including some that didn’t exist.
“There were a lot of flaws in this report,” she said on her podcast. “In fact, it was pretty embarrassing.”
She also called Kennedy’s dismissal of his first CDC director, Susan Monarez, after less than a month “a mess.”
“When we keep hearing radical transparency and we’re going to regain trust, I can tell you these shenanigans are taking us farther away from that mission,” Saphier said on her podcast.
In correspondence with the Associated Press last year, Saphier characterized Trump’s advice discouraging pregnant women from taking Tylenol due to unproven autism connections as overly simplistic. She emphasized that Trump’s message failed to acknowledge that untreated fever or severe pain can also create serious risks for mothers and babies.
Following Means’ confirmation hearings earlier this year, Saphier expressed confidence that Means would perform well as surgeon general but wished she were “a little bit less involved with MAHA.”
“I’d really like to see a little bit more reaching across the aisle when it comes to public health,” Saphier said. “That doesn’t mean it has to be some Democratic nominee for surgeon general, maybe just someone a little less aligned with the MAHA movement who, I don’t know, finished their residency and has an active medical license.”
Some prominent MAHA supporters have expressed skepticism about Saphier. Turning Point USA podcaster and anti-pesticide activist Alex Clark posted Friday that Saphier “gets an F when it comes to all things MAHA.”
