President Donald Trump’s pick for surgeon general moved a step closer to confirmation Wednesday, as a Senate committee advanced Dr. Nicole Saphier’s nomination after months of delays in filling the nation’s top public health spokesperson role.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 12–11 along party lines to send her nomination to the full Senate. But the next step will have to wait: According to The Hill, a floor vote will not be scheduled until after the midterm elections, with senators preparing to leave Washington until November.
Trump Praised Her Communication Skills
Trump announced Saphier’s nomination April 30, turning to the radiologist and former Fox News contributor after his previous selection, Casey Means, failed to secure enough Senate support.
In his nomination announcement on Truth Social, Trump called Saphier a “STAR physician” and praised her work helping patients navigate breast cancer diagnoses and treatment, as well as her advocacy for early detection.
“She is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans,” Trump wrote.
Saphier is the director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth in New Jersey, according to ABC News. Her nomination marks Trump’s third attempt to fill the position during his second term, following Janette Nesheiwat and Means.
Vaccine Questions Dominated Her Hearing
Saphier faced pointed questions during her September 16 confirmation hearing about childhood vaccines and whether she would challenge positions taken by Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., pressed her to give clear answers about the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and its alleged connection to autism.
“I do not believe childhood vaccines cause autism,” Saphier said, according to the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. She also described MMR vaccination as a key defense against measles.
However, Roll Call reported that she declined to fully distance herself from administration vaccine policies, including during questioning about the universal hepatitis B birth-dose recommendation.
Her hearing also highlighted a focus on preventing chronic disease, rather than waiting to treat Americans after they become ill.
Full Senate Vote Still Ahead
The committee also advanced Timothy Westlake’s nomination to be assistant secretary for mental health and substance use and Mary Lazare’s nomination to be assistant secretary for aging, The Hill reported.
If confirmed, Saphier would take on a prominent public communication role, offering Americans health guidance on issues ranging from disease prevention to mental health.
Wednesday’s vote clears a significant obstacle for Trump’s latest nominee. Final confirmation remains in the hands of the full Senate after the election.
