Cassidy Says White House Knew Surgeon General Nominee Fizzled

April 30, 2026, 9:35 PM UTC

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said hours after President Donald Trump pulled his surgeon general nominee Thursday that the White House was aware the wellness influencer didn’t have sufficient congressional support.

Casey Means, who is allied with the Make America Healthy Again movement, “didn’t have the votes in the committee,” said Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. “The White House has known for a while she didn’t have the votes to pass.”

The president announced his new nominee is Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and Fox News contributor. The switch is a blow to Health and Human ...

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