Trump pulls Dr. Casey Means' nomination for surgeon general, announces replacement

BREAKING NEWSApr. 30, 2026, 5:03 PM UTCHealth newsHealth newsTrump pulls Dr. Casey Means' nomination for surgeon general, announces replacementPresident Trump's new nominee is Dr. Nicole Saphier, is a radiologist and Fox News contributor.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Dr. Casey Means testifies at her Senate confirmation hearing to he surgeon general in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25.Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Aria BendixPresident Donald Trump on Thursday announced a new nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier, putting an end to months of speculation about whether the Senate would confirm his prior pick, Dr. Casey Means.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Saphier is listed on Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's website as a radiologist and director of breast imaging at the center's facility in Monmouth, New Jersey. She has regularly appeared as a medical expert on Fox News."Nicole is a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment while tirelessly advocating to increase early cancer detection and prevention," Trump wrote on Truth Social."She is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans," Trump continued. Means, a close ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced a tough Senate confirmation hearing in February, when she fielded questions about her controversial stances on vaccines, birth control and pesticides — subjects she has previously depicted as dangerous to human health.Trump said Thursday on Truth Social that Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., had stood in the way of Means' nomination."I nominated Casey, a strong MAHA Warrior, at the recommendation of Secretary Kennedy, who understands the MAHA Movement better than anyone, with perhaps the possible exception of ME!" Trump wrote...