Trump’s Surgeon General Pick, an Occasional Kennedy Critic, to Appear Before Senate, tell me about this news in (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/well/nicole-saphier-surgeon-general-senate-confirmation.html)

The news covers the Senate confirmation hearing of Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the next U.S. Surgeon General.Here are the key points regarding the hearing, her background, and the surrounding debates:Who is Dr. Nicole Saphier?

• Medical Background: Saphier is a radiologist and the director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Monmouth in New Jersey. Unlike Trump’s previous nominee, Casey Means, Saphier is an actively practicing physician with active medical licenses.
• Media and Public Profile: Prior to her nomination, she was a prominent Fox News medical contributor, podcast host, and author, including having written a 2020 book titled Make America Healthy Again: How Bad Behavior and Big Government Caused a Trillion-Dollar Crisis.
• Third Nominee: She is the administration’s third pick for Surgeon General, following the withdrawal of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat and the withdrawal of wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means, whose nomination stalled in the Senate over qualifications and vaccine stances.

Relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the MAHA Movement

• Occasional Kennedy Critic: While Saphier supports themes aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agendasuch as diet, lifestyle, chronic disease prevention, and government health reformshe has diverged from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on critical scientific issues.
• Vaccines: Saphier has affirmed that mainstream scientific evidence refutes the debunked link between childhood vaccines and autism, separating herself from some of Kennedy’s more anti-vaccine rhetoric. However, she has historically expressed criticism of pandemic-era federal mandates, lockdown policies, and certain agency guidelines, creating a balance between traditional clinical medicine and conservative public health skepticism.

Scrutiny and Confirmation ChallengesAhead of her appearance before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, lawmakers and public health watchdogs have raised several questions:

• Tobacco and Industry Investments: Ethics and financial disclosures revealed investments held by Saphier and her spouse in major tobacco companies (including Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco), along with shares in soda, fast food, and pharmaceutical companies. Because Surgeons General historically lead federal anti-smoking and chronic disease warnings, these holdings drew immediate criticism, though Saphier has committed to divesting from conflicting assets.
• Supplement Business: Disclosures also showed over $200,000 in income from Empower MD, LLC, her company behind the “Drop RX” line of dietary supplements, prompting scrutiny over product efficacy and regulation in the wellness industry.
• Navigating the Administration’s Health Agenda: Senators are focused on whether she will act as an independent, evidence-based voice for the nation’s health corps or adhere strictly to the policy directives of Kennedy and the Trump administration.