President Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Dr. Casey Means, his pick for surgeon general, whose confirmation was stalled on Capitol Hill amid opposition, including from some Republicans, in part over her views on vaccines.<\/p>\n
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Mr. Trump announced that he is nominating Dr. Nicole B. Saphier,<\/a> a radiologist and director of breast imaging at MSK Monmouth, a branch of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.<\/p>\n He described Dr. Saphier as \u201ca STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer\u201d and \u201can INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n In an earlier post on Thursday, Mr. Trump assailed Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who is the chairman of the Senate health committee, saying that Mr. Cassidy had \u201cstood in the way of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s Nominee, Casey Means, for the important position of U.S. Surgeon General.\u201d (Mr. Kennedy, who is the health secretary, does not make nominations; the president does.)<\/p>\n Dr. Means, a Stanford-educated \u201cfunctional medicine\u201d physician and wellness influencer, did not make vaccines a central part of her identity as a doctor or a nominee. She is interested in how diet affects health, and in the health damage caused by chemical and other environmental exposures, and has been a heroine to Mr. Kennedy\u2019s Make America Healthy Again movement.<\/p>\n But she was caught up in the furor over Mr. Kennedy\u2019s controversial vaccine agenda. While testifying in her confirmation hearings, she couched her language carefully when asked about vaccination. She said that \u201cvaccines save lives,\u201d but stopped short of recommending vaccines against measles and influenza, saying instead that decisions about vaccination should be made jointly by parents and pediatricians.<\/p>\n The withdrawal of her nomination is bound to be a deep disappointment for the MAHA movement, whose leaders met recently with the president and his aides, and told them that the confirmation of Dr. Means was important to them. Dr. Means was in attendance.<\/p>\n In an interview, Dr. Means said she would continue to use her voice to advocate for the issues she is passionate about. She also praised Mr. Trump, who has angered many MAHA influencers over a recent executive order aimed at ramping up production of the weedkiller glyphosate, which some scientists have linked to cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a really positive cultural movement happening right now where people are asking the government to help them get healthy and help them stand up against corporate interests that are making us sick, and the government has said, yes, we\u2019ll help you,\u201d Dr. Means said. <\/p>\n \u201cI genuinely believe in my heart that the Trump administration is trying to figure out how to move the balls forward,\u201d she added. \u201cYes, there are some setbacks, but there are some huge wins, and the way that culture has moved forward in the past year is monumental.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Cassidy had not stated a position on Dr. Means. But even if he had supported her, two other key Republicans on the health panel \u2014 Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska \u2014 have refused to commit to voting in favor of her, which has kept her nomination stuck in committee.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, two senior administration officials, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about Mr. Trump\u2019s health policies, declined to say what the administration\u2019s strategy was for getting Dr. Means confirmed, or whether Mr. Trump had leaned on senators to support her.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump is angry with Mr. Cassidy, who voted to convict the president of an impeachment charge of \u201cincitement of insurrection\u201d in 2021, and has endorsed Mr. Cassidy\u2019s opponent in next month\u2019s primary election in Louisiana.<\/p>\n Dr. Means is the sister of Calley Means, a top adviser to Mr. Kennedy. In a lengthy post on X, Mr. Means also assailed Mr. Cassidy. \u201cI am so proud of Casey, and the way she conducted herself during this process,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cI am also proud to work for the Trump admin, who has marshaled the disruptive MAHA message and driven victories against dark forces personified by Bill Cassidy. At every step, Casey\u2019s message of hope and empowerment was thwarted by Bill Cassidy.\u201d<\/p>\n