Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, signaled strong support for childhood immunizations during a Senate health committee hearing on Wednesday, marking a departure from other picks associated with the administration who have expressed vaccine skepticism. Saphier stated she does not believe vaccines cause autism and affirmed the life-saving value of immunizations. She also voiced backing for universal hepatitis B vaccination, despite previously questioning the newborn vaccine recommendation on her podcast.

Addressing a false claim made by Trump in August, Saphier rejected the suggestion that the M.M.R. (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine is lethal, emphasizing her appreciation for the president’s efforts to address concerns among vaccine-hesitant populations. Senate committee chairman Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, challenged this view, arguing that promoting misinformation, as Trump has been accused of doing, risks increasing confusion rather than reducing it. Nevertheless, Cassidy appeared satisfied with Saphier’s pro-vaccine stance.

The hearing also included testimony from two other Trump administration nominees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Chris Klomp, nominated for deputy secretary, and Dr. Timothy Westlake, nominated for assistant secretary for mental health and substance use. All three nominees appeared likely to secure confirmation. Westlake, an emergency physician, grew emotional recounting the overdose death of a family friend’s son due to fentanyl. Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, pressed Westlake on the administration’s decision to end funding for fentanyl test strips, but he did not commit to reversing the policy.

Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor who recently hosted a wellness podcast, highlighted her focus on preventive health, including cancer screening, if confirmed. She referenced ongoing efforts to combat chronic disease, contrasting herself with the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The nominee faced repeated questions about tobacco and vaping, particularly given revelations in her ethics filings that she holds stock in three tobacco companies, which she said she would divest if confirmed. Saphier described herself as “as anti-smoking, anti-tobacco as you can imagine,” but expressed measured support for flavored vaping products, stating that if flavors can help adult smokers quit cigarettes, they might warrant consideration. This view aligns with the Trump administration’s recent move to open the market for flavored vape products—a step critics warn could increase use among youth.

Klomp, currently a counselor at HHS and a key figure in the search for the new CDC director, has been heavily involved in drug pricing initiatives under Trump. He reiterated his support for measles vaccines during the hearing, a position he previously articulated but faced tougher scrutiny over during his testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, where he stopped short of definitively denying a vaccine-autism link.

Sharing personal background, Klomp said the death of his mother from cancer and his father’s medical career shaped his understanding of the health care system’s strengths and weaknesses. Injecting humor into the proceedings, he criticized the outdated Medicare claims processing system, which still relies on decades-old technology, and noted ongoing efforts to modernize HHS infrastructure for greater efficiency and cost savings.