Casey Means out as Trump's nominee for surgeon general: Who's her replacement?

President Donald Trump has withdrawn his nomination of Casey Means to serve as U.S. surgeon general after her confirmation stalled in the Senate. 

Trump, who blamed one GOP senator for blocking Means’ confirmation, announced a new nominee for surgeon general on Thursday. Means is the second U.S. surgeon general pick whose nomination has been withdrawn in Trump’s second term. Trump withdrew his first nominee, Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, after questions were raised about her academic credentials. Here’s the latest: 

Why did Trump withdraw Casey Means’ nomination? 

What they're saying:

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Means’ nomination has been derailed by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Cassidy, a physician, has been a vocal critic of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and his anti-vaccine policies, despite Cassidy voting in favor of Kennedy’s confirmation.

"I nominated Casey, a strong MAHA Warrior, at the recommendation of Secretary Kennedy, who understands the MAHA Movement better than anyone, with perhaps the possible exception of ME!" Trump wrote. "Nevertheless, despite Senator Cassidy’s intransigence and political games, Casey will continue to fight for MAHA on the many important Health issues facing our Country, such as the rising childhood disease epidemic, increased autism rates, poor nutrition, over-medicalization, and researching the root causes of infertility, and many other difficult medical problems. Casey, thank you for your service to our Nation!"

In an interview with The Associated Press Thursday, Means said her nomination fell apart after a "yearlong smear campaign against me," which she said was a larger effort to impugn the MAHA movement and its focus on reforming food and healthcare.

She said she will continue to "help with progress on this movement how I can."

Dig deeper:

Cassidy wasn’t the only lawmaker to question Means’ stance on vaccines and other health issues: Senators of both major political parties grilled Means during a tense confirmation hearing, deepening doubts about her ability to secure the votes she needs for the role.

RELATED: Casey Means faces hearing as Trump’s pick for surgeon general

Means, a 38-year-old Stanford-educated physician who became disillusioned with traditional medicine and did not finish her surgical residency program, has faced scrutiny for her lack of experience and potential conflicts. Another sticking point has been her close alignment with Kennedy, whose efforts to dramatically pull back vaccine recommendations have been slammed by lawmakers and medical groups.

Who is Trump’s new surgeon general nominee? 

In a separate Truth Social post, Trump announced that he’s nominating Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist who serves as director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Monmouth, New Jersey. She’s also a frequent Fox News contributor. 

"Nicole is a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment while tirelessly advocating to increase early cancer detection and prevention, while at the same time working with men and women on all other forms of cancer diagnoses and treatments," Trump wrote. "She is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans."

Like Means, Saphier has questioned whether every child needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

"I don’t necessarily think it’s necessary," she said on a podcast in September. "My opinion is if a woman recently tested negative for hepatitis B and they’re living a low-risk lifestyle, no IV drug use, not a sex worker, they don’t have a hepatitis B positive person living in the home, then the newborn probably doesn’t need this vaccine and we can have a conversation about whether or not they should get the vaccine later in life."

She also has criticized COVID vaccine booster requirements, arguing on a radio show in September that they were not always rooted in evidence.

Saphier used the phrase "Make America Healthy Again" years before Kennedy popularized it. It was the title of a book she wrote in 2020 that criticized government handling of health care and the Affordable Care Act.

In at least one case, Saphier has diverted from Trump’s medical messaging. Last year, as Trump advised pregnant women, "Don’t take Tylenol" — promoting unproven and in some cases discredited ties between the medication, vaccines and autism — Saphier said that while pregnant women generally are advised to take acetaminophen only under medical supervision, when necessary and at the lowest effective dose, equally important was that untreated fever or severe pain can also pose serious risks to mothers and babies. She noted that part was missing from Trump’s message, delivered at a press conference with top U.S. health officials.

"For decades, women have endured a paternalistic tone in medicine. We’ve moved past dismissing symptoms as ‘hysteria,’" Saphier wrote in an email to the AP at the time. "The President’s recent comments on Tylenol in pregnancy are a prime example. Advising moderation was sound; delivering it in a patronizing, simplistic way was not."

On a podcast at the time, Saphier said the press conference was "full of hyperbole" and "really painful to watch."