President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Nicole Saphier, was approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions after convincing key Republican senators that she supports childhood vaccines, a stance that puts her at odds with other parts of the Trump political coalition.
Saphier, a radiologist specializing in breast cancer and a former Fox News contributor, was confirmed by the committee along partisan lines, 12-11, on Wednesday, with no Democrats agreeing to move her candidacy to the full Senate for a final vote. The committee vote was originally scheduled for Sept. 24 but was postponed due to committee attendance conflicts.
Saphier is Trump’s third nominee to be the top doctor at the Department of Health and Human Services, a post that has been vacant for the entirety of the second Trump term.
Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said last week that Saphier has “the qualifications and the integrity necessary to do the job.”
“America needs a surgeon general who makes decisions rooted in science, a leader who gives families clear medical guidance, and works to restore public trust in health institutions,” Cassidy said. “With years of proven experience as a physician and a medical contributor, Dr. Saphier is ready to take on this challenge.”
During her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Saphier explicitly told senators on the panel that she does “not believe childhood vaccines cause autism,” which likely helped her secure enough votes to make it out of committee.
Denying any connection between vaccines and autism has been a litmus test for the Senate health committee to confirm Trump’s HHS nominees, as the Trump administration has generated pushback from senators by taking steps to cut the number of childhood vaccine recommendations from 18 to 11.
Saphier’s direct support for childhood vaccination was a sharp contrast to the approach of Trump’s prior surgeon general nominee, Dr. Casey Means, a health and wellness influencer and leader in the Make America Healthy Again movement.
Means did not outright deny a connection between vaccines and autism during her February confirmation hearing. Instead, she said vaccines were “not part of [her] core message” and that researchers “should not leave any stones unturned” when it comes to understanding the rise of autism cases in recent years.
Means, sister of the White House health policy adviser Calley Means, was criticized by Democrats for financial conflicts of interest with wellness companies and by religious conservatives for in the past talking to trees, taking psychedelic drugs, and participating in what critics call pagan rituals.
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Trump’s first pick for surgeon general and also a former Fox News contributor, was withdrawn from consideration in May 2025 and did not testify before the Senate health committee.
Saphier is not directly affiliated with the MAHA movement but was critical of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Saphier wrote a Wall Street Journal opinion piece questioning the logic of inoculating children against COVID-19 with messenger RNA vaccines.
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Saphier would not have policymaking power as surgeon general, but would be the nation’s highest-ranking physician and serve in a spokeswoman-type capacity.
Since May, Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos from the Office of the Surgeon General has stepped in to fill vacancies in some key roles, including issuing a warning about the ill health effects of excessive screen use among children and teenagers.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
