By FATIMA HUSSEIN and ALI SWENSON Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Donald Trump’s third surgeon general nominee, was grilled at her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday about her stance on childhood vaccines, voicing support for immunization as she seeks to serve in an administration that has moved to make sweeping changes to vaccine guidance.
Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor, faced tough questioning about her views on the safety of childhood vaccines by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who pressed her to declare whether she believed there was a link between vaccines and autism — which widespread scientific consensus has concluded doesn’t exist, yet which the Trump administration has repeatedly pushed to revisit.
“I do not believe childhood vaccines cause autism,” Saphier said. She also said “the MMR vaccine is our greatest tool for combating measles,” in response to a question by Cassidy over whether parents should give children that shot. MMR stands for measles, mumps and rubella, and the president recently called for the shots to be spaced out.
She suggested support for vaccines as a critical tool to prevent infection and said she appreciated the administration’s attempts to address questions and concerns among “the vaccine hesitant people,” which Cassidy countered was only creating more confusion. Cassidy pushed Saphier to speak with clarity on some of her answers on vaccines, which she repeatedly presented as a belief rather than a known scientific fact.
Saphier is nominated for a position that carries limited policymaking power but serves as a loud megaphone as the nation’s top communicator to Americans on public health issues.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump have both suggested that childhood vaccines, such as MMR, may play a role in causing autism. Evidence from decades of studies and real-world use of vaccines have proven there is no link between vaccines and autism.
The administration has taken steps to upend the nation’s vaccine guidance — many of them since halted by a judge — including downsizing the childhood immunization schedule. Medical groups and doctors have warned that the changes could stoke vaccine hesitancy.
Saphier is Trump’s third pick for surgeon general
Saphier is Trump’s newest pick after entrepreneur and wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means saw her path forward stall in the Senate over her background and vaccine views. Trump withdrew his first nominee, Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, after questions arose about her academic credentials. The position has been vacant throughout Trump’s second term.
Like Means, who is a close Kennedy ally, Saphier has questioned whether every child needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, a longtime recommendation that the Trump administration has been trying to weaken. On Wednesday, she said the universal birth dose of hepatitis B was safe and effective.
An author and podcaster who previously hosted her own show, “Wellness Unmasked with Dr. Nicole Saphier,” Saphier frequently commented on the Trump administration’s approach to health, often positively. She also used the phrase “Make America Healthy Again” years before Kennedy popularized it. It was the title of a 2020 book she wrote that criticized the government’s handling of healthcare and the Affordable Care Act.
While being supportive of the Trump administration at large, Saphier has, however, disagreed with Trump and Kennedy on some issues, telling The Associated Press last fall that Trump’s cautions to pregnant women who take Tylenol were oversimplistic and “patronizing.”
Last year, she decried the administration’s long-anticipated first attempt at a MAHA report, which cited some studies that didn’t exist, calling it “pretty embarrassing.” She said Kennedy’s firing of his first Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, Susan Monarez, after less than a month on the job was “a mess.”
“When we keep hearing radical transparency and we’re going to regain trust, I can tell you these shenanigans are taking us farther away from that mission,” Saphier said on her podcast. On Wednesday, she said she promised to restore public trust if confirmed.
At the start of the Senate health committee hearing, Cassidy noted the “serious health issues” facing the country, highlighting Kennedy’s efforts to scale back vaccine guidance at a time when the U.S. is enduring its worst year for measles in decades.
“That is going to be a terrible legacy for this administration,” Cassidy said, telling Saphier and other nominees appearing alongside her at the hearing that he hoped they would restore confidence in public health.
Cassidy, who was defeated by a Trump-backed challenger in his Republican primary earlier this year, then criticized what he called “irresponsible” health policy leadership.
During lawmakers’ questioning, Saphier was also asked whether she would follow unlawful orders by the president or Kennedy — she said she would follow the law — and was tested on her knowledge of the medication mifepristone, which is used to manage miscarriages and abortions.
It was not immediately clear when the committee planned to vote on whether to advance Saphier, who would still need a vote by the full Senate to be confirmed.
Also facing lawmakers’ questions Wednesday was Chris Klomp, chief counselor of the Health and Human Services Department, who has been nominated to serve as Kennedy’s second-in-command. Timothy Westlake, chief of staff at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration who is seeking confirmation to be assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, was also questioned.
Saphier says she would divest from some holdings
Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, according to her profile on the New York-based institution’s website. She has a doctor of medicine degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados along with fellowships at the Mayo Clinic, the profile said.
Her latest ethics filing, dated Sept. 7, shows holdings with various healthcare and insurance firms, as well as processed food companies, like Coca-Cola, Yum Brands, the Hershey Co. and cigarette maker Philip Morris.
Before entering politics and throughout his tenure at the health department, Kennedy has criticized big pharmaceutical companies and insurance firms for alleged corruption and decried ultraprocessed foods as contributing to a nationwide chronic disease crisis.
Additionally, Saphier owns DropRx, a firm that produces controversial, unregulated tinctures — concentrated liquid extracts promoting focus and calm — that contain ingredients, including kava kava root, described by the FDA as potentially causing severe liver injury.
Her filing says she will resign from her position with DropRx and Empower MD LLC, which owns DropRx, if she is confirmed.
She states in the document that she would partially or fully divest from holdings that would present a conflict to serving as surgeon general.