www.cidrap.umn.edu/public-health/means-out-saphier-trump-caves-pressure-surgeon-general-nomination
Means out, Saphier In: Trump caves to pressure on surgeon general nomination
Sarah Boden
Liz Szabo, MA
Today at 4:32 p.m.
Public Health
Childhood Vaccines
In his announcement on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump called Means “a strong MAHA Warrior," in reference to the Make America Healthy Again movement fueled by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The president also blamed Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana for Means’ failed nomination, calling the senator "a very disloyal person," and accusing him of "intransigence and political games."
Means proved too hard a pill to swallow
Though a graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, Means holds no medical license. She dropped out of her surgical residency program, citing disillusionment with traditional medicine, and pivoted to a career as a wellness influencer.
Her brother, Calley Means, is a top Kennedy aide who has discussed taking psychedelics with his sister.
Means’ lack of clinical experience, coupled with her contested claims on nutrition, vaccines, contraception, and medical practice, raised eyebrows during her nomination hearing, including from Cassidy, a board-certified gastroenterologist who specialized in liver disease.
Cassidy grilled Means during her confirmation hearing, asking her how she wanted to change childhood vaccination recommendations.
Means testified that "vaccines save lives," but also falsely said that the science was not settled on the debunked link between vaccinations and autism, and that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been linked to deaths.
"The measles vaccine has caused some adverse effects that have harmed children. There have been children who have died from the MMR vaccine,” Means said.
The fact Means wouldn’t endorse the MMR vaccine showed that she was an inappropriate fit to be surgeon general, said Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“She would be serving as America's doctor who was unwilling to act like America's doctor,” Offit told CIDRAP News.
Will Saphier be more palatable?
The new nominee, Nicole B. Saphier, MD, is a respected radiologist with an inspiring personal story but controversial views on COVID vaccines.
Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's facility in Monmouth, New Jersey. The hospital congratulated Saphier on her nomination in a post on X: "Over her decade of service to the MSK community, Dr. Saphier has been a tireless advocate for women's health and early cancer detection, expanding access to breast cancer screening, and raising awareness at a community and national level."
Saphier also hosts the iHeart Radio podcast, “Wellness Unmasked,” and is one of dozens of current or former Fox News personalities that Trump has nominated to a high-ranking position.
In a post on X, Saphier wrote on her private account, “God Bless the USA. Incredibly honored to receive this nomination.”
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump called Saphier “a STAR physician” who has spent her career guiding women through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, “while at the same time working with men and women on all other forms of cancer diagnoses and treatments.”
In nominating her, Trump is betting that Saphier will be a more palatable choice than Means.
Saphier recently retweeted news stories about the benefits of the HPV vaccine, and about a Danish study that found Tylenol in pregnancy does not cause autism. The latter contradicts recent claims by Kennedy and Trump.
“That kind of independence really matters for the surgeon general role. The job is to give Americans the best available science, even when it’s politically inconvenient,” said Jake Scott, MD, an infectious disease physician at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
While Scott sees Saphier as an improvement over Means, he has concerns on some of her views.
For example, though she has said that the best way to prevent measles is through vaccination, Saphier has echoed Means’ inaccurate suggestion that healthy children have died because of the MMR vaccine.
The job is to give Americans the best available science, even when it’s politically inconvenient.
For example, though Saphier has said that the best way to prevent measles is through vaccination, in a 2025 interview on Fox News during the Texas measles outbreak, she echoed Means’ inaccurate suggestion that healthy children have died because of the MMR vaccine.
The Infectious Disease Society of America says that there have been no deaths shown to be related to the MMR vaccine in healthy people. "There have been rare cases of deaths from vaccine side effects among children who are immune compromised, which is why it is recommended that they don't get the vaccine,” the group said in a statement.
Saphier has been open about some of her personal struggles, including her experience as a teenage mother.
In a column for Fox News, Saphier wrote, “college and medical school seemed like distant dreams for a teenage mom, but I turned those dreams into reality by leaning on my mom and the rest of my family to help. Through sleepless nights of studying, balancing motherhood with academics and work, and overcoming countless hurdles along the path, my mom was there, cheering me on every step of the way.”
Means out, Saphier In: Trump caves to pressure on surgeon general nomination
Sarah Boden
Liz Szabo, MA
Today at 4:32 p.m.
Public Health
Childhood Vaccines
President Donald Trump today pulled the nomination of wellness influencer Casey Means, MD, for US surgeon general, and has tapped a physician and Fox News contributor to take her place.In his announcement on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump called Means “a strong MAHA Warrior," in reference to the Make America Healthy Again movement fueled by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The president also blamed Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana for Means’ failed nomination, calling the senator "a very disloyal person," and accusing him of "intransigence and political games."
Means proved too hard a pill to swallow
Though a graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, Means holds no medical license. She dropped out of her surgical residency program, citing disillusionment with traditional medicine, and pivoted to a career as a wellness influencer.
Her brother, Calley Means, is a top Kennedy aide who has discussed taking psychedelics with his sister.
Means’ lack of clinical experience, coupled with her contested claims on nutrition, vaccines, contraception, and medical practice, raised eyebrows during her nomination hearing, including from Cassidy, a board-certified gastroenterologist who specialized in liver disease.
Cassidy grilled Means during her confirmation hearing, asking her how she wanted to change childhood vaccination recommendations.
Means testified that "vaccines save lives," but also falsely said that the science was not settled on the debunked link between vaccinations and autism, and that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been linked to deaths.
"The measles vaccine has caused some adverse effects that have harmed children. There have been children who have died from the MMR vaccine,” Means said.
The fact Means wouldn’t endorse the MMR vaccine showed that she was an inappropriate fit to be surgeon general, said Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“She would be serving as America's doctor who was unwilling to act like America's doctor,” Offit told CIDRAP News.
Will Saphier be more palatable?
The new nominee, Nicole B. Saphier, MD, is a respected radiologist with an inspiring personal story but controversial views on COVID vaccines.
Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's facility in Monmouth, New Jersey. The hospital congratulated Saphier on her nomination in a post on X: "Over her decade of service to the MSK community, Dr. Saphier has been a tireless advocate for women's health and early cancer detection, expanding access to breast cancer screening, and raising awareness at a community and national level."
Saphier also hosts the iHeart Radio podcast, “Wellness Unmasked,” and is one of dozens of current or former Fox News personalities that Trump has nominated to a high-ranking position.
In a post on X, Saphier wrote on her private account, “God Bless the USA. Incredibly honored to receive this nomination.”
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump called Saphier “a STAR physician” who has spent her career guiding women through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, “while at the same time working with men and women on all other forms of cancer diagnoses and treatments.”
In nominating her, Trump is betting that Saphier will be a more palatable choice than Means.
Saphier recently retweeted news stories about the benefits of the HPV vaccine, and about a Danish study that found Tylenol in pregnancy does not cause autism. The latter contradicts recent claims by Kennedy and Trump.
“That kind of independence really matters for the surgeon general role. The job is to give Americans the best available science, even when it’s politically inconvenient,” said Jake Scott, MD, an infectious disease physician at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
While Scott sees Saphier as an improvement over Means, he has concerns on some of her views.
For example, though she has said that the best way to prevent measles is through vaccination, Saphier has echoed Means’ inaccurate suggestion that healthy children have died because of the MMR vaccine.
The job is to give Americans the best available science, even when it’s politically inconvenient.
For example, though Saphier has said that the best way to prevent measles is through vaccination, in a 2025 interview on Fox News during the Texas measles outbreak, she echoed Means’ inaccurate suggestion that healthy children have died because of the MMR vaccine.
The Infectious Disease Society of America says that there have been no deaths shown to be related to the MMR vaccine in healthy people. "There have been rare cases of deaths from vaccine side effects among children who are immune compromised, which is why it is recommended that they don't get the vaccine,” the group said in a statement.
Saphier has been open about some of her personal struggles, including her experience as a teenage mother.
In a column for Fox News, Saphier wrote, “college and medical school seemed like distant dreams for a teenage mom, but I turned those dreams into reality by leaning on my mom and the rest of my family to help. Through sleepless nights of studying, balancing motherhood with academics and work, and overcoming countless hurdles along the path, my mom was there, cheering me on every step of the way.”