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3w ago

Senate HELP Committee Advances Nicole Saphier’s Surgeon General Nomination

The committee move clears the way to a full Senate vote that will decide who leads federal public‑health messaging under the Trump administration.

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Dr. Nicole Saphier, surgeon general nominee, smiles during a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 23: Exterior view of the U.S. Capitol on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. The shutdown enters its fourth week, becoming the second longest government shutdown in history. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
U.S. Surgeon General nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier testifies before the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

Overview

  • The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 12–11 along party lines on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, to send Saphier’s nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
  • Saphier told senators in her Sept. 16 hearing that she does not believe childhood vaccines cause autism and called the MMR vaccine “our greatest tool” against measles, statements that helped win key Republican support.
  • Sen. Bill Cassidy pressed Saphier on vaccine views during the hearing and said her answers earned his vote, while Democrats and some public‑health advocates remain skeptical because of her past questioning of some routine vaccine practices.
  • The committee also advanced other HHS nominees en bloc, including Timothy Westlake, and the full‑Senate floor vote for the group has not been scheduled and is likely to take place after the midterm recess.
  • If confirmed, Saphier would serve mainly as the nation’s top public‑health communicator rather than a policymaker, and her approval would shape how the administration frames vaccine guidance while fitting into broader HHS staffing and vaccine policy disputes around Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.