WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump announced Dr. Nicole Saphier as his nominee for U.S. Surgeon General on April 30, 2026. The nomination ended months of speculation about whether the Senate would confirm Dr. Casey Means, whom Trump nominated in May 2025.

Saphier is Trump's third choice for the post after his previous two nominees failed to advance to Senate votes. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the nation's top doctor with the authority to issue health advisories for the country.

"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," he added.

Saphier is listed on Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's website as a radiologist and director of breast imaging at its Monmouth County, New Jersey facility. Until her nomination, she was a medical contributor on Fox News Channel. She also hosts a health and wellness podcast called "Wellness Unmasked."

Saphier's 2020 book, also titled "Make America Healthy Again," discusses preventing chronic diseases by adjusting lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise. Her 2021 book, "Panic Attack," criticizes pandemic-era shutdowns and school closures and aligns with views of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.

Means testified at her Senate confirmation hearing on February 25, 2026, after the hearing was delayed when she gave birth to her first child. She was questioned about her views on vaccines, birth control, and pesticides, and she would not directly say if she would encourage mothers to vaccinate their children. When asked by Sen. Bill Cassidy if she affirmed that vaccines have no link to cases of autism, Means answered, "I do accept that evidence." Means, 38, does not have a currently active medical license and has publicly acknowledged experimenting with psychedelic drugs in her 30s.

Cassidy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Trump called the senator "a very disloyal person" on Truth Social and called on Louisiana voters to vote against him in the upcoming Republican primary.

"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 on Truth Social. "Nevertheless, despite Senator Cassidy's intransigence and political games, Casey will continue to fight for MAHA on the many important Health issues facing our Country," he added.