Key Facts

• Dr. Nicole Saphier is President Trump’s nominee for US surgeon general and a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
• She made $270,605 in business income from Empower MD, LLC, which sells dietary supplements under the brand Drop RX.
• Saphier said she would sell her supplement company before starting her role as surgeon general.
• She has investment in industries including tobacco, pharmaceuticals, technology, fossil fuels, and major food and beverage companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.
• Both Saphier and her husband invest in tobacco companies; she agreed to sell these holdings within 90 days of confirmation.
• Some Drop RX products contain ingredients like kava kava root, which is banned by the US military and linked to liver damage according to FDA reports.
• Public health advocates worry that Saphier’s financial ties to supplements and tobacco conflict with the surgeon general’s role in protecting public health.
• The Senate confirmation hearing for Saphier was scheduled for Wednesday following the release of her financial disclosures and ethics agreement.