Trump’s New Surgeon General Nominee Is a Doctor and Vaccine Mandate Critic

Casey Means is out. Trump’s new pick: Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and Fox News contributor.

Trump

President Donald Trump speaks during a Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/AP

President Donald Trump is ditching Casey Means as his surgeon general nominee, he announced on Truth Social on Thursday.

His new — third — nominee for America’s top doctor: Nicole Saphier, a radiologist who currently serves as the director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — and who criticized mask and vaccine mandates during the pandemic.

“Nicole is a STAR physician,” Trump wrote in his announcement. “She is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans.”