Politics

Trump’s New Surgeon General Pick Laid Out All The Reasons Failed Nom Wouldn’t Be Good A Year Ago

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President Donald Trump’s new surgeon general pick previously criticized ex-nominee Dr. Casey Means for lacking the “leadership background” required for the role.

Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Thursday that he is nominating Dr. Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after pulling Means‘ stalled nomination, referring to Saphier as a “star physician.” Saphier claimed in a May 9, 2025 video posted to Instagram that Means “does not have the academic clout to garner” the “following” of the Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement, despite her being “aligned” with MAHA advocates.

Saphier also claimed in the video that while Means “went to medical school,” is “obviously very smart” and “well-spoken,” she does not “necessarily” possess the “leadership background, and I am not sure that physicians are going to be eager to listen to her when she didn’t finish her medical training.”

“That doesn’t mean that she’s not gonna be a great surgeon general, those are just my thoughts,” Saphier added.

Means did not finish her surgical residency and also does posses an active medical license, NPR reported in October 2025.

Saphier claimed in the video on Instagram that there have been “reports from colleagues” that Means had “quit” her residency due to “anxiety.” However, Saphier also noted in the video that Means appeared to have “a lot of support” from the Trump administration.

Saphier and Means each could not immediately be reached for comment.

Saphier is a breast radiologist who has been a frequent Fox News contributor since 2018, according to USA Today. She leads breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center-Monmouth and also serves as an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, with expertise in breast and oncologic imaging, the outlet reported.

Additionally, Saphier previously critiqued vaccine and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, NOTUS reported on Thursday.

Means’ nomination had stalled in the Senate partly due to her stance on vaccines, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Thursday. She previously said that “vaccines save lives,” but did not explicitly recommend measles or influenza vaccines, instead suggesting that vaccination decisions should be made jointly by parents and their pediatricians, according to the NYT.