The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is holding a confirmation hearing on three nominees for senior positions within the Department of Health and Human Services. The positions under consideration include surgeon general, deputy secretary, and assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News medical contributor, is Trump’s third nominee for surgeon general. The previous two nominees—Dr. Janette Nesheiwat and Dr. Casey Means—did not advance through the confirmation process. Nesheiwat’s nomination was withdrawn following concerns about her academic credentials, while Means’ nomination stalled after a contentious hearing and subsequent loss of committee support. The nation has been without a confirmed surgeon general since January 2025.
Chris Klomp, a health technology executive with no background as a media personality or politician, is nominated for deputy secretary of HHS. Klomp has been serving as Medicare director and was elevated to chief counselor to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in February. During a Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday, senators questioned him on drug pricing, Medicaid fraud, and response to measles outbreaks. Despite vaccine safety skepticism from administration officials, Klomp voiced strong support for the MMR vaccine to combat measles spread.
Dr. Timothy Westlake, an emergency medicine physician from Wisconsin currently serving as chief of staff at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is nominated for assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. The agency has experienced significant staff reductions under Kennedy’s leadership, and a restructuring plan that would have eliminated it has faced legal challenges.
Vaccine policy is expected to be a focal point of Saphier’s hearing. She has criticized COVID-19 vaccine booster requirements and questioned hepatitis B vaccination protocols, though she has also defended vaccines against debunked autism claims and criticized department efforts to link autism to vaccine components. The hearing occurs amid an ongoing strained relationship between Secretary Kennedy and Congress, marked by broken promises and infrequent appearances.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI