President Donald Trump‘s nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Nicole Saphier, disclosed investments in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) and several major beverage and pharmaceutical companies, and agreed to divest from most of them if confirmed for the role.
Offloads Tobacco and Fast Food Stakes
In an ethics agreement disclosed Thursday, Saphier has agreed to divest holdings in more than 200 companies within 90 days of her confirmation, including tobacco makers Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO) and British American Tobacco PLC (NYSE:BTI), along with Philip Morris.
She has also agreed to offload her stakes in fast food and beverage companies, McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE:MCD), Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO), PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP), Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:MNST), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX), and Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM)
Earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed a broader federal campaign against sugary beverages and processed foods, unveiling new dietary guidelines that singled out “sugar-sweetened beverages” as a driver of “metabolic disease.”
Other Holdings
The list also includes major pharmaceutical and healthcare names such as Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY), Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK), AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) and CVS Health Corp. (NYSE:CVS),
Stakes in technology giants Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and energy companies Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) will also be divested.
A smaller group of holdings, including Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), will be only partially divested, since some of those positions are held through two LLCs.
Trump’s Third Attempt to Fill the Role
Trump nominated Saphier in April, calling her a “STAR physician.”
She replaces Dr. Casey Means, whose nomination collapsed earlier this year after Means initially declined to recommend the measles vaccine during a Senate hearing, then reversed course.
Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor, currently serves as an associate attending physician and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, a position from which she plans to take unpaid leave if her appointment is confirmed.
Saphier’s confirmation hearing before the Senate is set for Sept. 16.
Price Action: On Thursday, Philip Morris closed 2.19% higher to $189.77 and gained 0.13% in extended trading.
Benzinga edge rankings indicate Philip Morris’ stock has a Momentum score in the 53rd percentile and a Growth score in the 31st percentile.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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