Public Health

Don't Waste Time Arguing Over the Surgeon General Nominee. Abolish the Office.

It’s a vestigial role that has morphed into a national annoyance.

J.D. Tuccille | 5.11.2026 7:00 AM

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President Donald Trump's most recent pick for the office of U.S. Surgeon General, Nicole Saphier, is a source of tension between the MAGA and MAHA factions of his supporters. Given that she's the president's third pick for the slot, the administration would undoubtedly just like to put disputes over this one office behind them. But there's an easy path to a conflict-free resolution: The Trump administration could leave the Office of the Surgeon General unfilled and push for its abolition.

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Nominee Number Three for an Office That is an 'Unnecessary Relic'

Saphier, a radiologist, comes from a rather conventional medical background and has been critical of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who set the initial lifestyle-conscious but conspiratorial MAHA tone for the administration's health policies. She's also the president's third choice for the post, after the nominations of Janette Neshiewat and Casey Means faltered over questions about their credentials. Saphier is more likely than the first two nominees to win Senate approval, but that comes at the risk of alienating some of the president's fragmenting base. There's no reason for an avoidable battle over a completely unnecessary office.

"The Office of the........

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