President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Surgeon General is already facing a bit of controversy ahead of her Senate confirmation hearings.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, an oncologist and now-former Fox News contributor, disclosed investments in a wide range of tobacco, food, beverage, and pharmaceutical companies, holdings she has agreed to sell or reduce if confirmed by the Senate.
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Saphier reported investments in Philip Morris International, McDonald’s, Monster Beverage, Coca-Cola, and other major corporations in financial disclosures released Thursday, according to Bloomberg Law.
Her portfolio also includes stakes in some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Eli Lilly, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, and Gilead Sciences.
The disclosures attracted particular attention because the Surgeon General serves as one of the federal government’s most visible public-health officials and has historically played a major role in communicating the dangers associated with tobacco use, unhealthy diets, and other health risks.
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Saphier’s ethics agreement calls for her to divest completely or partially from numerous companies whose business interests could potentially overlap with issues she would confront as Surgeon General.
Other reported holdings include Pfizer, AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Biogen, among a much longer list of health-care and biotechnology companies.
Public financial disclosure is a standard requirement for presidential nominees seeking Senate-confirmed positions.
The Office of Government Ethics reviews nominees’ financial interests along with ethics officials at the agency where they would serve.
When potential conflicts are identified, officials develop an ethics agreement specifying steps the nominee must take to avoid those conflicts.
Those steps can include selling individual stocks, resigning from outside positions, or agreeing not to participate in certain government matters.
President Trump’s surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier disclosed investments in companies including:
-Tobacco company Philip Morris International
-McDonald’s
-Monster Beverage
-Coca-Cola
Full story w/ @bill_allison
🎁: https://t.co/lOWdDkvTdB— Rachel Cohrs Zhang (@rachelcohrs) September 10, 2026
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The disclosure of Saphier’s Philip Morris investment is particularly notable because of the Surgeon General’s historic role in tobacco policy.
The landmark 1964 Surgeon General’s report linked cigarette smoking to serious health consequences and helped reshape public attitudes toward tobacco.
The Office of the Surgeon General continues to list tobacco prevention as a major public-health priority, describing tobacco use as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and stating that there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke.
Saphier’s holdings in Coca-Cola, Monster and McDonald’s also come as the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services places increased emphasis on diet, exercise and chronic disease.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda has focused heavily on reducing consumption of ultra-processed foods, changing nutrition policy and addressing obesity and other chronic health problems.
Saphier herself has repeatedly emphasized lifestyle changes, including improved diet, physical activity and disease prevention, throughout her career as a physician and medical commentator.
She is a radiologist specializing in breast imaging and serves as director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Monmouth facility in New Jersey. She was also a longtime medical contributor to Fox News before Trump selected her for the government position.
Trump formally nominated Saphier in May after withdrawing the nomination of Dr. Casey Means.
The White House submitted Saphier’s nomination to the Senate on May 11 for a four-year term as surgeon general and medical director in the Regular Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.
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Trump has praised Saphier as an experienced physician and communicator, highlighting her work involving cancer detection and treatment.
The nomination is Trump’s latest attempt to fill a position that has remained without a Senate-confirmed surgeon general during his second term.
The president originally selected Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for the job before withdrawing her nomination.
He then nominated Means, whose candidacy encountered resistance in the Senate over questions involving her credentials and views on vaccines. Trump replaced Means with Saphier in April.
Saphier’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
She will appear alongside Chris Klomp, Trump’s nominee for deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, and Timothy Westlake, his nominee to become assistant secretary for mental health and substance use.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
