Surgeon General Nomination Advances

Senate panel advances Trump surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier toward a full floor vote.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee advanced Nicole Saphier, President Trump's nominee for U.S. surgeon general, by 12-11. This move puts her on a glide path to a floor vote and confirmation. The committee also advanced two Department of Health and Human Services nominations, Timothy Westlake and Mary Lazare. If confirmed, Saphyier would become the country's top health spokesperson. She was pressed about President Trump’s changes to the childhood vaccine schedule and suggested she would push back on those who suggested a link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, a position that has been debunked.