Trump pulls Casey Means' stalled surgeon general nomination. New pick is radiologist Nicole Saphier

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s nominating erstwhile Fox News Channel contributor and radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier for surgeon wide aft Dr. Casey Means’ way guardant stalled successful the Senate implicit questions astir her acquisition and her stance connected vaccines.

In a societal media post, Trump said helium would nominate Saphier, whom helium called “a STAR doc who has spent her vocation guiding women facing bosom crab done their diagnosis and treatment.”

Saphier is simply a radiologist and manager of bosom imaging astatine Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, according to her illustration connected the New York-based institution’s website. She has a doc of medicine grade from Ross University School of Medicine successful Barbados on with fellowships astatine the Mayo Clinic, the illustration said.

The withdrawal came aft tense exchanges betwixt Means and lawmakers of some parties threw into question whether she could unafraid capable votes to beforehand retired of the Senate wellness committee.

Her information had languished since her confirmation proceeding successful precocious February, adjacent arsenic activists from the Make America Healthy Again question orchestrated a propulsion to enactment her bid by surging telephone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. They had some indicated reservations with the pick.

Means pitches ideas fashionable with MAHA

In nominating Means past May, Trump sought to prosecute a adjacent state of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arsenic the nation’s doctor. The 38-year-old Means, a Stanford-education doc who became disillusioned with the wellness attraction strategy and pivoted to a vocation arsenic an writer and entrepreneur, promotes ideas fashionable with the MAHA movement, including that Americans are overmedicalized and that fare and manner changes should beryllium astatine the halfway of efforts to extremity wide chronic disease.

But Means, who did not decorativeness her surgical residency programme and doesn’t presently person an progressive aesculapian license, besides had faced scrutiny for her deficiency of acquisition and imaginable conflicts. On apical of those concerns, senators grilled her successful February astir Kennedy’s wide-ranging pullback of vaccine recommendations — starring to immoderate contentious moments arsenic Means toed the enactment betwixt enactment for vaccines and calling them a determination champion made by patients and their doctors.

In her confirmation hearing, Means was repeatedly asked astir the commencement dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending for each children precocious past twelvemonth successful a determination criticized by technological and aesculapian groups nationwide. Means has raised doubts astir the commencement dose, posting connected societal media successful 2024 that giving the vaccine to a newborn whose parents don’t person hepatitis B was “absolute insanity.”

In different station earlier Thursday, Trump called Means “a beardown MAHA Warrior” and besides criticized the “intransigence and governmental games” from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is facing a pugnacious reelection this twelvemonth and who interrogated Means astir vaccines during the hearing.

Means' brother, Calley Means, a wellness advisor to the Trump administration, blamed Cassidy successful a societal media post, claiming his “constant hold tactics” sank the nomination. Cassidy didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Now Trump volition effort to capable the station a 3rd time

Means is the 2nd U.S. surgeon wide prime whose information has been withdrawn successful Trump’s 2nd term. Trump withdrew his archetypal nominee, Fox News aesculapian contributor Janette Nesheiwat, aft questions were raised astir her world credentials.

In astatine slightest 1 case, Saphier has diverted from Trump’s aesculapian messaging. Last year, arsenic Trump advised large women, “Don’t instrumentality Tylenol” — promoting unproven and successful immoderate cases discredited ties betwixt the medication, vaccines and autism — Saphier said that portion large women mostly are advised to instrumentality acetaminophen lone nether aesculapian supervision, erstwhile indispensable and astatine the lowest effectual dose, arsenic important was that untreated fever oregon terrible symptom tin besides airs superior risks to mothers and babies. She noted that portion was missing from Trump's message.

“For decades, women person endured a paternalistic code successful medicine. We’ve moved past dismissing symptoms arsenic ‘hysteria,’” Saphier wrote successful an email to The Associated Press astatine the time. “The President’s caller comments connected Tylenol successful gestation are a premier example. Advising moderation was sound; delivering it successful a patronizing, simplistic mode was not.”

Means and Saphier did not instantly respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services referred inquiries to the White House.

___ Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

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