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President Trump withdrew the stalled nomination of Casey Means for U.S. Surgeon General on Thursday and nominated radiologist Nicole Saphier instead. The move follows Senate resistance to Means, a key figure in the Make America Healthy Again movement. Trump blamed Sen. Bill Cassidy for blocking the confirmation.
thewrap.comPresident Trump announced on Thursday that he has withdrawn the nomination of Casey Means for U.S. Surgeon General and nominated Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and Fox News contributor, in her place. The move follows the stalled progress of Means' nomination in the Senate since February, marking Trump's third nominee for the position in his second term after Means and an earlier pick, Janette Nesheiwat.
Means' nomination did not advance to a vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee due to insufficient support for confirmation. According to statements from committee members, three Republicans—Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Sen.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine—expressed reservations about Means. Sen. Cassidy, who chairs the committee and is a physician, had previously voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services despite concerns over Kennedy's vaccine-related views.
No direct public statements from Sens. Cassidy, Murkowski, or Collins detailing their specific reservations about Means appear in available records as of April 30, 2026.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated: "Bill Cassidy, a very disloyal person whose TRUMP Endorsement got him elected but later voted to impeach President Trump on what has now proven to be a total Hoax and Scam, has stood in the way of Robert F. " Trump urged Louisiana voters to replace Cassidy in the next election.
Robert F. " Calley Means, Casey's brother and a White House senior adviser, stated: "Cassidy is a mindless avatar for his donors and a blind defender of the status quo system that is profiting from American sickness," adding that Cassidy worked to "delay and smear" his sister during the confirmation process.
Casey Means dropped out of her surgical residency in 2018 and is not a licensed physician, according to public records and her own statements. She co-authored the book "Good Energy" with her brother Calley Means and has publicly criticized aspects of the medical establishment, including vaccine policies.
In a 2024 podcast, Means questioned the universal birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, stating it was unnecessary for most newborns. She has also advocated for access to raw milk and psychedelics as part of health initiatives.
Trump stated that Means would continue to contribute to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda on key issues despite the withdrawal. Nicole Saphier serves as a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and heads breast imaging for its clinic in Monmouth, New Jersey.
She holds a medical license and has authored books on health topics.
Saphier has expressed support for some MAHA-aligned views, such as skepticism toward vaccine mandates and advocacy for whole milk, while also endorsing conventional cancer treatments and vaccines for measles and polio. The nomination change comes as MAHA-related efforts face developments, including a federal court ruling on April 25, 2026, that blocked certain HHS initiatives proposed by Kennedy related to vaccine information; staff reassignments at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on April 28, 2026; and Trump's February executive order providing liability protections for manufacturers of glyphosate, an herbicide criticized by MAHA advocates.
On April 30, 2026, the House of Representatives passed a version of the Farm Bill that removed those liability protections, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration. No public statements from Senate leadership on the Farm Bill's glyphosate provisions were available as of that date.
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