Trump surgeon general pick backs MMR vaccine, rejects link between childhood vaccines and autism

By Fox News · Fox News

President Donald Trump's latest surgeon general nominee, Dr. Nicole Saphier, defended the MMR vaccine and rejected claims that childhood vaccines cause autism during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. Saphier, a radiologist and a former Fox News contributor, would serve as the federal government's top doctor and public health spokesperson at a time when measles cases are surging across the country . "I believe the MMR vaccine is our greatest tool for combatting measles," Saphier said during her appearance before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Sen. Bill Cassidy , the committee's chairman, asked Saphier whether she agreed with Trump's comments last month suggesting the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine could be "quite lethal." TRUMP SURGEON GENERAL PICK SPARKS BACKLASH, SPLITS MAHA MOVEMENT "As a physician, I can tell you that I do not believe the MMR vaccine to be lethal," Saphier responded. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Saphier would serve under if confirmed, has said multiple times throughout his tenure that people should get the MMR vaccine. "The two-dose MMR vaccine is our safest and most effective tool to prevent this highly contagious illness," he told Fox News Digital in March 2025. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also continued to recommend the MMR vaccine, although the Trump administration eventually favors splitting it into three shots. CNN'S DANA BASH SPARS WITH RFK JR OVER VACCINE EFFICACY, DEMANDS HE 'LOOK INTO THE CAMERA' AND PUSH VACCINES Saphier also differed with some of Kennedy’s past statements about a potential link between vaccines and autism. "Well, humbly, I don't know what causes autism, but I have not seen reputable evidence that would suggest that vaccines cause autism," Saphier said. "I do not believe childhood vaccines cause autism." In a 2023 Fox News interview , while running for president as a Democrat, Kennedy told host Jesse Watt…