Trump Withdraws Casey Means, Nominates Dr. Nicole Saphier As Surgeon General
Trump withdrew Casey Means after her Senate hearing stalled and tapped Nicole B. Saphier, a breast radiologist and Fox News contributor, as his third pick for surgeon general.
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Overview
President Trump withdrew Casey Means' nomination and announced Dr. Nicole B. Saphier as his nominee for U.S. surgeon general on his social media network.
Means' nomination had stalled after her Feb. 25 confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Trump blamed Sen. Bill Cassidy for blocking Means' nomination, calling him "a very disloyal person" who "stood in the way," according to his social media posts.
Dr. Nicole B. Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, is a Fox News medical contributor, and holds active medical licenses in New York, New Jersey and Arizona.
Saphier would be Trump's third nominee to lead the roughly 6,000-employee U.S. Public Health Service after Janette Nesheiwat's nomination was pulled in May 2025.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame Saphier as a credentialed clinician with partisan media ties while highlighting controversies. Editorial choices emphasize her Fox News role and promotion of a wellness product, and foreground critics' claims about her comments on transgender-related mental health. Her quotes on vaccine nuance and Trump's praise remain presented as source content, not framing.