politics
Trump Withdraws Casey Means Nomination, Selects Nicole Saphier as Surgeon General
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.
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President Trump announced on Thursday that he has withdrawn the nomination of Casey Means for U.S. Surgeon General and nominated Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and Fox News contributor, in her place.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.
