President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Surgeon General just got a round of good news after her Senate confirmation hearings late last week.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, an oncologist and former Fox News contributor, has received praise and support from many Republican senators—including a few who initially had concerns.
HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, two Republicans who have looked closely at Trump’s health nominees in the past, were positive about Saphier.
Cassidy said of the nominees, “I feel pretty good about all of them. You need to be led. Too many of the agencies don’t have good leadership right now.”
Murkowski said she met Saphier and that they had “a good conversation.”
“The hearing tomorrow sounds interesting to me,” Murkowski said. “We’ll also watch how she acts around other coworkers.”
Casey Means, a supporter of Make America Healthy Again and a former nominee for Surgeon General, said that Trump’s decision to drop her nomination in April was because of Murkowski’s worries.
Murkowski and Cassidy asked Means many questions about her views on the hepatitis B vaccine at her confirmation hearing in February.
The top doctor role doesn’t have the power to make policy, but the federal government intends it to be its main public health spokesperson.
From May to now, Stephanie Haridopolos, a top employee at the Office of the Surgeon General, has been taking on some of the job’s duties.
Saphier is a radiologist from New Jersey and spent years working at Fox News.
Saphier told lawmakers that she would sell stock in companies that Kennedy’s MAHA coalition has been after, like Coca-Cola and Pfizer, which makes the COVID-19 vaccine.
Other Republicans on HELP, like Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, said that Saphier’s nomination needed to happen quickly.
“We haven’t had one in almost a year and a half, so yes, we should do it.” “We should have had one already,” Tuberville said.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) says President Trump’s pick for U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Nicole Saphier “did earn my vote,” but says if FDA commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton wants to earn his vote, she needs to understand “that calling the measles vaccines lethal is absurd.”
“We… pic.twitter.com/yU3YEelYR5
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 20, 2026
“Why does it take a cancer diagnosis to have the conversation of what can you do to prevent illness?”
U.S. Surgeon General nominee, Dr. Nicole Saphier, says we need to start asking how we can prevent chronic disease before it starts, rather than only how we treat it once it’s… pic.twitter.com/bjSWZcDikJ
— MAHA Action (@MAHA_Action) September 16, 2026
Saphier is a radiologist specializing in breast imaging and serves as the director of breast imaging at the Monmouth facility of Memorial Sloan Kettering in New Jersey.
Saphier was also a longtime medical contributor to Fox News before Trump selected her for the government position.
In May, after withdrawing the nomination of Dr. Casey Means, Trump formally nominated Saphier.
The White House submitted Saphier’s nomination to the Senate on May 11 for a four-year term as surgeon general and medical director in the Regular Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.
Trump has praised Saphier as an experienced physician and communicator, highlighting her work involving cancer detection and treatment.
The nomination is Trump’s latest attempt to fill a position that has remained without a Senate-confirmed surgeon general during his second term.
The president originally selected Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for the job before withdrawing her nomination.
He then nominated Means, whose candidacy encountered resistance in the Senate over questions involving her credentials and views on vaccines. Trump replaced Means with Saphier in April.
She will appear alongside Chris Klomp, Trump’s nominee for deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, and Timothy Westlake, his nominee to become assistant secretary for mental health and substance use.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
