GettyImages credit: teekid

America deserves a surgeon general guided by science, not politics

President Donald Trump has selected Dr. Nicole Saphier to be the next U.S. surgeon general. Saphier replaces troubled nominee Casey Means. The selection of Saphier reflects the president and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ongoing effort to dismantle America’s healthcare system. Together, they are advancing a calculated campaign that is undermining public trust in the scientific and medical communities and blurring the line between long-established public health principles and fringe ideology.

Saphier’s alignment with the agenda to undermine public health is not new. In fact, she titled her 2020 book Make America Healthy Again, in which she blamed health crises on government intervention and individuals not taking personal responsibility for their health. She has been a Fox News Channel contributor since 2018 and and a vocal critic of federal pandemic response. Saphier falsely claimed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mandated COVID-19 vaccines for children. Saphier is known for downplaying the risk of COVID-19 infection for children and opposing vaccine and masking requirements.

Saphier is known for downplaying the risk of COVID-19 infection for children and opposing vaccine and masking requirements.

Through her appearances on Fox, podcasts and books, Saphier has become a leading commentator on vaccines and infectious diseases. But Saphier is a licensed radiologist and has no professional expertise in epidemiology, immunology or public health. Like Casey Means, she has a history of promoting her own unproven and unregulated medical supplements, claiming for example, that rosemary and sage decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Saphier also faces scrutiny over financial ties to the healthcare and wellness industries. She is the founder of Drop Rx, an herbal nutraceutical company, and her Instagram account is peppered with dubious wellness claims. This is both a conflict of interest and a betrayal of the scientific principles a surgeon general should uphold.

Saphier aligns with Secretary Kennedy in opposition to universal access to COVID-19 vaccinations for children and adolescents. While supporting routine vaccines like those for measles and polio, she has questioned guidance for hepatitis B and certain vaccine boosters. When framed this way, emphasis on “informed consent” and “shared decision-making” can blur well-established guidance and create the impression that routine, widely recommended vaccinations are optional or uncertain. From the surgeon general’s platform, that framing risks lowering vaccination rates, increasing everyone’s susceptibility to preventable disease, and putting the students, patients, families and communities that AFT members work with in danger.

In a time when trust in medical expertise is under strain, the surgeon general must be a clear and consistent voice for science and medicine. Even when Saphier aligns with scientific consensus, her actions raise concerns that she will put politics first. According to *The Hill,* Saphier deleted numerous social posts that critiqued the current administration’s attacks on science, raising serious concerns about her independence and credibility.

America’s surgeon general should serve as a trusted voice on public health grounded in sound science and judgment.

America’s surgeon general should serve as a trusted voice on public health grounded in sound science and judgment. The office carries a responsibility to communicate clear, reliable information to the American people and to help advance the nation’s health. Saphier does not meet this measure.

As her nomination moves to the Senate, lawmakers are likely to press Saphier on both her public health views and any potential conflicts of interest. Critics argue she should fully divest from financial ventures connected to the wellness industry and clearly explain her positions during confirmation hearings. Failing to do so could strengthen opposition to her nomination.

For many healthcare professionals, educators and public servants, the stakes extend beyond politics. The surgeon general serves as a national symbol of medical credibility and public trust. Placing Saphier in that role would undermine the dedicated healthcare workers and U.S. Public Health Service personnel she would be tasked with leading — and ultimately fail the American people who rely on clear, science-based leadership in times of public health crisis.

Want to get more great content from the AFT? Sign up for our e-newsletters.