Trump Pulls Surgeon General Pick, Slams GOP's Cassidy

President Trump's pick for surgeon general has changed again. On Thursday, he withdrew the nomination of physician Casey Means and said he'll instead nominate Fox News medical contributor and radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier—his third choice for the job, reports the Hill. In a Truth Social post, Trump used all-caps to praise Saphier as a "star physician" and "incredible communicator," highlighting her work with breast cancer patients and advocacy for early detection.

The switch follows growing Republican resistance to Means, whose confirmation prospects collapsed after GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lisa Murkowski questioned her reluctance to give an unqualified endorsement of childhood vaccines. In separate posts, Trump lashed out at Cassidy in particular, notes the Washington Post. "Hopefully all of the Great Republican People of Louisiana, which I won, BIG, three times, will be voting Bill Cassidy OUT OF OFFICE in the upcoming Republican Primary!" he wrote. Trump's first nominee, Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat, also failed to secure sufficient Republican backing.