On Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held confirmation hearings for Surgeon General nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier, a director of radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth and former Fox News contributor. This is the third nominee from President Donald Trump for this role, and the second to undergo confirmation hearings. 

In May 2025, Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, but the nomination was quickly rescinded. In June 2025, Trump nominated Dr. Casey Means, who went through the Senate HELP confirmation hearing in February 2026, receiving mixed reviews from Democrats and some Republicans on the committee. The areas where Means came under fire were her stance on parental consent and consultation before childhood vaccines were administered, and her own use of therapeutic psychedelics. Means' nomination was ultimately stalled in the committee, and Means quietly withdrew. In April 2026, Trump announced that he had nominated Saphier, and this pick is among the last of Trump's administrative positions to be filled. 

The HELP hearing was devoid of fireworks, and even the Democrat committee members came off as respectful, and some even agreeable. In Saphier's opening remarks, she affirmed that she had been MAHA before it became a thing. Saphier told the committee, "Preventing chronic disease is something I have been talking about much longer than the current movement."

As a doctor who has dealt with cancer patients, Saphier referenced her own work in addressing the need for chronic disease focus before a disease needed to be treated.

Oftentimes when I'm sitting in front of a patient and I diagnose cancer to them, one of the most devastating things that happens is they say to me, What could I have done? Did something I do cause this? Could I have prevented it? And it has been in those very raw moments with my patients that I realize why does it take a cancer diagnosis to have that conversation of what can you do to prevent illness. And it's not limited to cancer, it is all throughout our entire healthcare system. Up to 50 percent of cancers potentially could be prevented through certain lifestyle changes, up to 80 percent of cardiovascular disease as well. 

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“Why does it take a cancer diagnosis to have the conversation of what can you do to prevent illness?”

U.S. Surgeon General nominee, Dr. Nicole Saphier, says we need to start asking how we can prevent chronic disease before it starts, rather than only how we treat it once it’s there.

“Up to 50% of cancers potentially could be prevented through certain lifestyle changes.”

“Up to 80% of cardiovascular disease as well.”

“Oftentimes, when I’m sitting in front of a patient and I diagnose cancer to them, one of the most devastating things that happens is they say to me, ‘What could I have done? Did something I do cause this? Could I have prevented it?’”

This committee hearing was Chairman Bill Cassidy's (R-LA) swan song. Cassidy was primaried in May and is serving his final term as a Louisiana senator. So, as the head of the HELP committee, in his opening statement, Cassidy took that opportunity to malign the Trump administration along with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Cassidy decried HHS' decisions to alter vaccine guidance and bring in more parental control and consent, saying, "Misinformation and misguided policies are leaving children and adults unprotected against disease that we know how to prevent."

Cassidy also alleged, "The U.S. is enduring its worst year for measles in decades."

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Once Cassidy had his rant, he came right out of the gate with questions about vaccines, particularly the universal Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.

Cassidy took yet another swipe at HHS Secretary Kennedy and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) panel for their choice to remove the recommendation that the Hepatitis B vaccine be universally administered at birth. ACIP now recommends that parents consult with their pediatrician to determine when or if they will give the vaccine to their child, particularly when the mother has no history of drug use and tested negative for Hepatitis B. 

Cassidy asked Saphier, "Is that wise public policy?"

Saphier responded around the question, rather than answering it directly or casting judgment on HHS or ACIP policy. Saphier said she supported "universal Hepatitis B vaccination," and sang the praises of how it has prevented liver disease worldwide. 

Cassidy was obviously looking for a particular response, so his next question was more direct: "Should we do away with the recommendation of a birth dose of Hepatitis B vaccine?"

Saphier managed to split the baby. Without casting shade on HHS and its policies, Saphier affirmed her own views that the data she had studied showed the universal dose of Hepatitis B at birth has been the most effective in the United States for preventing liver disease, and that as a doctor and a mother, she is on board with this.

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Cassidy received a response more to his liking with his questions on whether the MMR vaccine could be linked to autism, after he once again lectured about the Trump administration's alleged misguided choice to make changes to the vaccine schedule.

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Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) questioned Saphier about ectopic pregnancies and state abortion bans, which she claimed were causing deaths. Murray rattled off numbers about these deaths, then tried to pin Saphier down on how, in her past role as a Fox News contributor, Saphier said she would speak out if these deaths were occurring because of abortion bans. Murray demanded that Saphier commit, in her role as Surgeon General, to speak out against abortion bans. 

Saphier diverted, saying that she had not seen those numbers, but would be happy to look over the data. Saphier also affirmed:

I think the maternal mortality rate is something we should be judged upon, and if confirmed, I desperately want to work with other people in HHS to see what we can do to ensure the lives of our mothers, because they definitely deserve better than what we're giving them right now.

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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked about Saphier's stance on the use of Mifepristone, which is currently under FDA review. Saphier affirmed to Hawley that she had not seen all the studies and she was intent on reviewing the FDA information to see whether the safeguards which were removed by the Biden administration had indeed driven more maternal deaths.

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And Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) was singularly focused on Saphier continuing the Surgeon General's role as "chief spokesperson" against smoking and tobacco use. Saphier confirmed to Kaine that she was, "as anti-smoking, anti-tobacco as you could imagine anyone to be."

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Saphier was not alone at the confirmation hearing. Chris Klomp was nominated for the Chief Counselor role at HHS, and Timothy Westlake, the current Chief of Staff at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, was nominated to fill the role of Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. Once Saphier had her turn in the hot seat, Klomp and Westlake underwent questioning from the senators on the HELP committee.

Despite Cassidy's and others' grilling on HHS policy, the Surgeon General role has no bearing on health policy. The design for the office is to simply be the public health spokesperson for the administration.