Trump pulls Casey Means' stalled surgeon general nomination, announces new pick

Dr. Casey Means testifies during a Senate Health, Education Labor and Pension Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Surgeon General on Capitol Hill, Feb. 25, in Washington. Tom Brenner/AP hide caption toggle caption Tom Brenner/AP WASHINGTON — President Trump said Thursday he's nominating former Fox News Channel contributor and radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Dr. Casey Means' path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines. In a social media post, Trump said he would nominate Saphier, whom he called "a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment." Saphier is a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, according to her profile on the New York-based institution's website. She has a doctor of medicine degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados along with fellowships at the Mayo Clinic, the profile said. The withdrawal came after tense exchanges 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 the Make America Healthy 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. …