Trump Names Fox News Contributor Nicole Saphier as Third Surgeon General Pick

Key facts

• Trump withdrew Casey Means's nomination on Thursday and announced Nicole Saphier as his third pick for surgeon general.
• Saphier is a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a former Fox News contributor whose contract was terminated after the nomination.
• Means's nomination languished after a tense February confirmation hearing where Republican senators Murkowski and Collins withheld support.
• Saphier has questioned the vaccine schedule but called the drop in measles vaccine coverage for children 'a problem.'
• Trump's first nominee, Janette Nesheiwat, was pulled just days before her Senate confirmation hearing last year.
• The CDC has been without a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader since August 2025, and 80% of top agency positions remain vacant.

A Third Nominee for the Nation's Top Doctor

President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly withdrew the nomination of Dr. Casey Means for U.S. surgeon general and announced Dr. Nicole Saphier as his third pick for the role. The move ends a nearly year-long confirmation process that had stalled since Means's bruising February hearing. Saphier, a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, has been a Fox News contributor for a decade. A Fox News spokesperson confirmed that her contract with the network has been terminated, a standard practice when Trump taps a television personality for an administration role.

Means's Nomination Collapses Under Bipartisan Scrutiny

Means, a Stanford-educated physician and author of the best-selling book 'Good Energy,' was closely allied with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement. But her nomination faced skepticism from both parties after she struggled to answer questions about vaccines and her decision to abandon a surgical residency. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins left the February hearing with unresolved concerns, denying Means the unanimous Republican committee support needed to advance. Even among MAHA supporters, some lamented her noncommittal stance on vaccines, while Trump loyalist Laura Loomer frequently questioned Means's loyalty to the president.

Saphier's Vaccine Views and Political Alignment

Saphier has described herself as someone who 'questions the vaccine schedule' and applauded the recent HHS decision to make Covid-19 shots available only after a consultation with a healthcare provider, particularly for lower-risk patients such as school-age children. But she has also warned that a 2% drop in measles vaccine coverage for children is 'enough to fuel localized outbreaks.' She has criticized HHS Secretary Kennedy for using a nicotine product during a Senate hearing, calling it 'disturbing' in an op-ed. Her 2020 book, 'Make America Healthy Again,' argues that socialized medicine is unnecessary if Americans adopt healthy eating habits.

A Pattern of Stalled Nominations and Leadership Gaps

Saphier is Trump's third surgeon general nominee in his second term. His first pick, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a New York family physician and former Fox News medical contributor, saw her nomination pulled just days before her Senate confirmation hearing was set to begin last year. The wider public health apparatus remains in disarray. The CDC has cycled through four directors or acting directors since Trump took office and has been without a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader since August 2025, triggering resignations in protest. As it stands, 80% of top positions at the agency are vacant.

Kennedy's Retreat and Saphier's Mainstream Appeal

Kennedy, whose anti-vaccine record has been linked to a measles outbreak that killed children, has since softened his public messaging on immunization. Saphier's mainstream medical credentials — she serves on a CDC advisory committee — make her a more politically convenient standard-bearer for the MAHA brand. Trump praised Saphier as 'a STAR physician' and 'an incredible communicator,' suggesting that her decade as a Fox News contributor was as much a qualification as her clinical record. The Senate will now weigh a nominee who straddles the line between vaccine skepticism and public health orthodoxy.

What Comes Next for the Surgeon General Post

Saphier's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, where the same Republican divisions that derailed Means could resurface. Her past criticism of Kennedy may complicate relations within the administration, even as her alignment with MAHA rhetoric pleases the base. With the CDC leaderless and the surgeon general post vacant for months, the stakes for a swift confirmation are high. But the pattern of withdrawals and stalled hearings suggests that filling the nation's top medical posts remains a persistent challenge for the Trump administration.

The bottom line

• Trump withdrew Casey Means's nomination after a stalled confirmation process and named Fox News contributor Nicole Saphier as his third surgeon general pick.
• Saphier is a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering who has questioned the vaccine schedule but warned about declining measles vaccination rates.
• Means faced bipartisan opposition over her vaccine stance and surgical residency abandonment, losing support from key Republican senators.
• Trump's first nominee, Janette Nesheiwat, was also withdrawn before a hearing, highlighting a pattern of failed surgeon general picks.
• The CDC remains without a permanent director, with 80% of top positions vacant, compounding public health leadership instability.
• Saphier's nomination tests whether the Senate will accept a nominee with ties to both mainstream medicine and the MAHA movement.