Trump Switches Surgeon General Nominee from Casey Means to Nicole Saphier Amid MAHA Backlash

President Donald Trump's new nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier, has sparked divisions within the Make America Healthy Again movement, the health-focused group elevated in the administration by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"The new surgeon general nominee, Dr. Nicole Saphier, may have a great pro-life testimony, but she gets an F when it comes to all things MAHA," said Alex Clark, health and wellness podcaster for Turning Point USA. Other MAHA activists echoed her, including Kelly Ryerson, an anti-pesticide advocate known online as "Glyphosate Girl."

"DOGE the Surgeon General!!! We want medical freedom!!!! If not Casey - we take no one!" added Vani Hari, known online as "Food Babe" and a key MAHA figure. She recently told The Atlantic that failing to confirm Means would "ruin the soul of MAHA."

Trump's first choice, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, withdrew in 2025. He then picked Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford-trained physician, wellness author, entrepreneur and vocal MAHA supporter close to Kennedy during work on the administration's health agenda.

Trump announced Thursday on Truth Social that he was withdrawing Means' nomination and replacing her with Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor. The move came amid a stalled confirmation process, partly due to Means' pregnancy and vetting needs, according to a source familiar with the nomination who spoke to Fox News Digital.

Minutes before the announcement, Trump called Means "a strong MAHA Warrior, at the recommendation of Secretary Kennedy, who understands the MAHA Movement better than anyone." Kennedy also praised her as word spread of the switch to Saphier.

Both Trump and Kennedy criticized Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate health committee handling the nomination, for allegedly blocking Means. Delays stemmed from concerns over Means' qualifications and vaccine views, a source said, with insufficient support to confirm her.

Trump described Saphier as "an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR" who "will do great things for our Country." Kennedy backed her nomination. But MAHA activists decried the change.

Clark called it a "catastrophic mistake" for the fragile coalition. She wrote on X that Saphier is among medicine's most pro-vaccine advocates, even defending hepatitis B shots on newborns' first day. "My position isn’t to replace Dr. Saphier. It’s to completely DOGE the Surgeon General role," she added.

"Doge the SG!!!!" Hari posted on X Sunday, calling it "more of the same." She told The Washington Post, "We’re seeing a system that protects itself. A system that says it wants change but recoils the moment real change shows up."

Casey Means' brother, Calley Means, an early MAHA leader, posted on X, "I am so proud of Casey, and the way she conducted herself during this process." He also attacked Cassidy and expressed pride in working for the Trump administration.

Fox News Digital sought comment from Saphier on vaccine skepticism criticism but got no response.

White House spokesman Kush Desai called Saphier "an outspoken voice" against COVID-19 mandates, politicized science and federal roles in chronic disease. "She will be a powerful asset ... to deliver on every facet of (the president's) MAHA agenda."

Some MAHA allies took it in stride. Dr. Joseph Varon, president and chief medical officer of the anti-pesticide Independent Medical Alliance, which questions vaccine efficacy and backed two of Kennedy's CDC vaccine panel picks, said Saphier was "exactly who America needs," a real doctor with spine.

Dr. Robert Malone, a critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns who backs MAHA, called Saphier "moderate-MAHA" on his Substack. He noted her mixed record: pro-individual vaccines, supportive of parental choice on schedules, critical of universal pediatric mandates without data, and sympathetic to MAHA's vaccine safety reforms. She is neither anti-vaccine like Children's Health Defense nor a CDC defender like Cassidy, he wrote.

Fox News Digital contacted MAHA Action, whose founder Tony Lyons opposed moderate GOP senators like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski who resisted Means, but got no reply in time for publication.