WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump says he鈥檚 nominating Fox 太子探花 Channel contributor Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Casey Means鈥� path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines.
In a social media post Thursday, the Republican president said Saphier is 鈥渁 STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment.鈥�
Senators of both major political parties grilled Means on her vaccine stance and other health topics during a tense confirmation hearing, deepening doubts about her ability to secure the votes she needs for the role.
Earlier Thursday, Trump on social media commended Means as 鈥渁 strong MAHA Warrior,鈥� also criticizing the 鈥渋ntransigence and political games鈥� from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who interrogated Means about vaccines during the hearing.
The withdrawal of Means’ nomination to be the next U.S. surgeon general is a blow to Health Secretary and his movement, which championed Means for the role as the country鈥檚 top doctor despite her nontraditional path in medicine and some controversial past remarks on vaccines and other health topics.
The withdrawal comes after between Means and lawmakers of both parties threw into question whether she could secure enough votes to advance out of the Senate health committee. Her nomination had languished since her confirmation hearing in late February, even as activists from Kennedy鈥檚 Make America Great Again movement orchestrated a push to support her bid by surging phone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who had both indicated reservations with the pick.
In nominating Means last May, Trump sought to hire a close ally of Kennedy as the nation鈥檚 doctor. Means, a Stanford-education physician whose disillusionment with the healthcare system led to her career as an author and entrepreneur, ideas popular with the MAHA movement, including that Americans are overmedicalized and that diet and lifestyle changes should be at the center of efforts to end widespread chronic disease.
___ Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.
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