Trump's Third Surgeon General Pick Faces Senate
Trump's Third Surgeon General Pick Faces Senate
The News
Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Trump's nominee for US surgeon general, goes before the Senate on Wednesday — the third time Trump has tried to fill the job.
The Senate committee on health is holding the confirmation hearing for three top health officials at once, according to NPR.
The surgeon general's office has sat empty since Trump took office last year, The New York Times reports.
Who Else Is Up
Chris Klomp, who is vying for the health department's No. 2 slot, and Timothy Westlake, Trump's pick to run the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will also face questioning, The Washington Post reports.
Timeline
Trump takes office and the surgeon general's post stays vacant, according to The New York Times.
The Senate health committee opens confirmation hearings for Saphier, Klomp and Westlake.
Reactions
CNN notes that Wednesday's hearing won't be the first time much of the American public meets Saphier: the network describes her as a health and wellness influencer who has built an audience of hundreds of thousands of followers through her podcast and social media platforms, and asks what an influencer turned surgeon general could mean for US public health.
NPR frames the day as senators questioning Trump's picks for top health positions — the surgeon general's job among them — rather than a single nomination fight.
What's Next
Senators on the health committee question all three nominees Wednesday. A committee vote and then a full Senate confirmation vote would follow before Saphier could take the post, which remains vacant in the meantime.
More
Saphier is Trump's third attempt to nominate a surgeon general, NPR reports — a record that makes Wednesday's hearing the administration's best chance yet to finally staff the country's top public-health messaging job.
Poll
Should the Senate confirm Nicole Saphier as surgeon general?
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