WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has withdrawn its nomination of Casey Means to be the next Surgeon General and replaced her with radiologist and Fox News contributor Nicole Safier.
The move would be a blow to the Make America Healthy Again movement, which has been pushing for Means’ approval for months. But Safia shares some commonalities with the MAHA movement, including a concern for personal health and skepticism about vaccine mandates.
It also shows the limits of the Trump administration’s ability to achieve Senate approval, especially after months of concerns from lawmakers over health issues. The administration has nominated a health official to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who also awaits Senate review.
President Trump announced the changes in a social media post, criticizing Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who heads the committee tasked with reviewing nominations for surgeon generals. He called the senator, a physician, “dishonest” for expressing deep concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine policies.
President Trump wrote that Cassidy “is standing in the way of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nominee, Casey Means, for the important position of Surgeon General of the United States…Despite Sen. Cassidy’s hardline stance and political maneuvering, Casey will continue to fight for MAHA on the many important health issues facing our nation.”
Cassidy’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Nicole Safier attends FOX Nation’s 2024 Patriot Awards at Till’s Center for the Performing Arts in Greenvale, New YorkTheo Wargo/Getty Images
Means, who graduated from medical school but dropped out of residency, drew criticism because he did not have a medical license or experience treating patients.
Ms. Saphier is a resident physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and director of breast imaging at MSK Monmouth in New Jersey. She is also a regular contributor to Fox Business. She said the overwhelming majority of “good research” disputes the idea that vaccines are linked to autism, but expressed openness to alternative childhood vaccination schedules.
Safia said on a recent episode of the Wellness Unmasked podcast that while he has concerns about vaccine mandates, he is unsure about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recent decision to end mandatory influenza vaccinations for the military.
She is the author of the book “Make America Healthy Again: How Bad Behavior and Big Government Caused a Trillion-Dollar Crisis,” which advocates for Americans to take better care of themselves to improve the health of the nation.
Helen Branswell contributed reporting.
