Trump’s surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier clears key Senate committee

September 30, 20261 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmSaphier’s nomination now heads to the full Senate for a voteNicole Saphier, nominee for U.S. surgeon general, speaks during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2026. Eric Lee for the Washington Post via Getty ImagesJoin Our Community of Science Lovers!The third time appears to be the charm for President Donald Trump’s nomination for the nation’s top doctor. Nicole Saphier, who Trump tipped for the job in April, will now face a vote in the full Senate for the job of surgeon general.Saphier is a radiologist by training and has appeared on Fox News. She is the third pick for the job, after Casey Means, a wellness influencer and start-up founder, and Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News personality, both of whom failed to garner enough support.Saphier’s nomination passed through the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on party lines on Wednesday. Now the nomination proceeds to a full Senate vote—a date for that is still pending.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.At a hearing of the committee earlier this month, Saphier had seemed to distance herself from Trump’s false claims about childhood vaccines, saying she had seen no “reputable” evidence that vaccines cause autism. She also affirmed to the committee that the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been “our greatest tool” for preventing the spread of measles.Still, her nomination has been criticized by some public health advocacy groups for her lack of experience in public health, specifically. The surgeon general typically acts as the nation’s top public health educator and is expected to communicate information on how to stay healthy. They also oversee the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a cadre of public health professionals who can respond to national health crises, such as a pandemic.Subscribe to Support Independent JournalismGreat science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber