Trump’s health nominees set to move forward with Senate return

Trump’s health nominees set to move forward with Senate return

Several of President Trump’s health nominees will get a confirmation hearing next week in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, including surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier.

Next Wednesday’s hearing will be Saphier’s first appearance before a congressional panel, and she’ll appear with Chris Klomp, nominated to be deputy secretary of HHS, and Timothy Westlake, tapped to be assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use.

She is Trump’s third attempt at filling the surgeon general position. Trump pulled the nomination of Casey Means earlier this year, after first nominating and then withdrawing Janette Nesheiwat last year.

Saphier’s nomination was a step toward a more mainstream nominee than Means, whose medical license had lapsed and had dropped out of her residency program before finishing.

Along with previously being a Fox News contributor, Saphier is a radiologist specializing in breast and oncological imaging.

In past social media posts, Saphier has been critical of healthcare initiatives and recommendations made by the second Trump administration. When President Trump told pregnant mothers to not take Tylenol, Saphier wrote, “As a mom of 3 kids, I don’t love a man telling me to ‘tough it out’ when it comes to pregnancy.”

These past instances of calling out the administration may aid Saphier in front of the Senate committee, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have sought assurances that nominees would break with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump if necessary.

Democrats notably withheld their support of CDC Director Erica Schwartz, despite acknowledging her credentials, due to their belief she had failed to demonstrate a willingness to push back against the administration.

Welcome to The Hill’s Healthcare newsletter , we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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Local and state headlines on healthcare:

Wyoming becomes 50th state to join maternal care alliance ( WyoFile )

West Virginia awards $2.4 million to recruit rural healthcare workers ( WTRF )

Affordable Care Act insurance costs to rise steeply again in WA ( Washington State Standard )

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Kids are back in classrooms. Health misinformation could shape the school year. ( The 19th News )

The market forces quietly adding thousands to patient bills ( KFF Health News )

Can AI fix health care? In the chaos of emergency rooms, the technology comes up short ( Stat )

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