Trump withdraws Casey Means' surgeon general nomination, names Nicole Saphier as replacement

May 1, 2026

President Trump withdrew Dr. Casey Means' surgeon general nomination Thursday after it stalled in the Senate, replacing her with radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier. Means, a 38-year-old Stanford-educated physician who never finished her surgical residency and lacks an active medical license, faced bipartisan opposition during her February confirmation hearing over her qualifications and vaccine stance, including a 2024 social media post calling hepatitis B vaccination for newborns 'absolute insanity.' Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins indicated they would not support her nomination. Saphier, director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth and former Fox News contributor, has also questioned universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth and criticized COVID booster mandates, though she previously called Trump's Tylenol warnings 'oversimplistic and patronizing.' This marks Trump's third surgeon general nominee after also withdrawing Dr. Janette Nesheiwat over credential questions.

Casey Means' nomination withdrawal and Senate opposition

▪Dr. Casey Means is 38 years old and is a Stanford-educated physician.
▪Dr. Casey Means' confirmation hearing took place in late February.
▪President Trump withdrew Dr. Casey Means' surgeon general nomination on Thursday.
▪President Trump nominated Dr. Casey Means for surgeon general in May.
▪Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska indicated she was not going to vote for Dr. Casey Means' nomination.

Nicole Saphier's nomination and positions on health policy

▪Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. complimented Dr. Nicole Saphier's nomination.
▪Dr. Nicole Saphier wrote a book titled Make America Healthy Again in 2020 that criticized government handling of health care and the Affordable Care Act.
▪Dr. Nicole Saphier has a doctor of medicine degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados.
▪Dr. Nicole Saphier told The Associated Press in September that President Trump's cautions about pregnant women taking Tylenol were oversimplistic and patronizing.
▪Dr. Nicole Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth.
▪President Trump withdrew Dr. Janette Nesheiwat's surgeon general nomination after questions were raised about her academic credentials.
▪Dr. Nicole Saphier is a radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor.
▪Dr. Janette Nesheiwat was President Trump's first surgeon general nominee in his second term whose nomination was withdrawn.
▪President Trump nominated Dr. Nicole Saphier for surgeon general on Thursday.

Vaccine stance controversies and MAHA movement alignment

▪Senators grilled Dr. Casey Means in February about Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s effort to pull back vaccine recommendations.
▪Calley Means is Dr. Casey Means' brother and a health adviser to the Trump administration.
▪Dr. Casey Means posted on social media in 2024 that giving the hepatitis B vaccine to a newborn whose parents don't have hepatitis B was absolute insanity.
▪Activists from the MAHA movement orchestrated a push to support Dr. Casey Means' nomination by surging phone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.