Trump's Surgeon General Nominee Under Fire for Selling Supplement Containing Pentagon-Banned Ingredient

Trump's Surgeon General Nominee Faces Scrutiny Over Controversial Supplement Brand

Donald Trump's latest nominee for surgeon general is drawing serious criticism after it emerged that she markets an herbal supplement line containing an ingredient the U.S. military has explicitly prohibited — and one that health professionals warn may cause liver damage.

Dr. Nicole Saphier, a breast cancer radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey and former Fox News contributor, has been selling dietary supplements under the brand name Drop RX since at least 2024. The revelation has alarmed medical professionals and consumer advocacy groups, some of whom have gone so far as to accuse her of peddling "snake oil."

Following an inquiry from the Guardian, Amazon announced it had launched a compliance investigation into Drop RX's product listings. Within days, several listings had disappeared from the platform entirely, while others were marked as unavailable for purchase.

Who Is Dr. Nicole Saphier?

Saphier is Trump's third attempt at filling the surgeon general role, his previous two nominations having stalled in the Senate. The White House has thrown its full support behind her, with spokesperson Kush Desai describing her as "an accomplished physician" who will be "a powerful asset for President Trump" in advancing his Make America Healthy Again (Maha) agenda.

The surgeon general is widely regarded as the nation's top health communicator — a figure tasked with delivering reliable, science-backed information to the American public. Past surgeons general have shaped public health history through landmark warnings on tobacco and groundbreaking education campaigns on HIV/AIDS.

Saphier and her company did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

What Is Drop RX?

Drop RX markets itself as a "physician formulated" herbal supplement line, offering at least nine distinct products with names like Calm, Focus, Boost, Sleep, Relief, Allure, and Intimacy. Product labels promote a range of wellness benefits — Focus is described as being "designed to support overall brain health," while Calm is marketed as something that supports "a balanced mind and body."

On her Instagram account, Saphier has actively promoted the products. In one video from June 2025, she referenced a study linking rosemary and sage consumption to reduced Alzheimer's risk, pointing out that Drop RX's Focus product already contains both herbs. In another post from August 2025, she demonstrated her morning routine, which included brewing tea from the Boost and Intimacy formulations — describing the latter as "a natural aphrodisiac" with benefits for hormonal support.

In a now-deleted Instagram post that briefly surfaced in a Google search, Saphier mentioned assembling a Drop RX "care package" for Trump as he recovered from a gunshot wound.

Pentagon-Banned Ingredient Raises Red Flags

Among the most alarming findings is that the lead ingredient in Drop RX's Calm formulation is kava kava root — a plant extract added to the U.S. Department of Defense's list of prohibited dietary supplement ingredients in April 2024. The Pentagon banned it citing "the possibility of impairment and subsequent threat to military readiness."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its first consumer advisory about kava back in 2002, flagging concerns about liver toxicity. In 2020, the agency published an extensive 29-page scientific review reinforcing those safety concerns. Several countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland, have banned or significantly restricted kava due to its potential to cause liver damage.

While kava can be legally sold in the United States as a dietary supplement, regulations vary by state and context. New York, for instance, does not permit food establishments to serve kava but allows it to be sold on its own as a nutritional supplement.

Consumer Advocates Raise Additional Concerns

Beyond the Pentagon-banned ingredient, independent watchdog groups identified further problems with Drop RX's product labeling.

Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com — an organization that independently tests thousands of health and nutrition products — reviewed two Drop RX listings at the Guardian's request. He found they displayed his group's number one warning sign for dietary supplements: labels that fail to disclose how much of each ingredient is actually contained in the product.

"We prefer that consumers buy products where you know what's actually being provided," Cooperman said. "Most supplements will tell you — will break out how much of each ingredient."

He also noted that while the labels claimed the products were manufactured in the United States using good manufacturing practices, they provided no specifics about the production facility and showed no evidence of third-party verification of those standards.

Conflict of Interest Questions at Memorial Sloan Kettering

Saphier's supplement business has also raised questions about potential conflicts with her employer's policies. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, one of the world's most prestigious cancer research institutions, maintains a conflict-of-interest policy that explicitly prohibits staff from endorsing products or commercial ventures.

The hospital did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding whether Saphier's supplement business complies with those internal policies.

Broader Concerns About Science and Public Trust

Health experts have expressed deep unease about the prospect of a supplement seller serving as the nation's chief health communicator.

"Nobody who prides themselves as rigorous about science is in the supplement business," said Dr. Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a prominent food and health advocacy organization. Lurie has been a vocal critic of what he characterizes as wellness industry "grifters" operating within the broader Maha movement — figures he says profit from selling poorly regulated supplements with unsubstantiated health claims.

Richard Carpiano, a public health scientist and professor of public policy at UC Riverside who has contributed to past surgeon general reports, echoed those concerns.

"The U.S. surgeon general should be a highly trusted position as America's health communicator, bringing to bear the best science," Carpiano said. "If she's willing to push these kinds of wellness products, what else might she push along the way?"

The Supplement Industry's Regulatory Gap

At the heart of this controversy lies a well-documented gap in U.S. consumer protection law. Unlike pharmaceutical drugs, which must undergo rigorous clinical testing to prove both safety and efficacy before reaching consumers, dietary supplements are not required to demonstrate either quality before they are brought to market.

This regulatory loophole means that many supplements may not deliver the benefits they advertise, may lack the ingredients listed on their labels, or may even contain substances that pose health risks — sometimes all three simultaneously, according to Lurie.

The dietary supplement industry has grown into a massive commercial enterprise, with estimated U.S. sales reaching $72.9 billion in 2025. Key figures within the Maha movement have developed close ties to the industry, raising broader questions about the movement's scientific credibility and its ability to make impartial public health recommendations.