Trump picks Heidi Overton to lead FDA
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- Trump nominated Dr. Heidi Overton, deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and a medical doctor with degrees from the University of New Mexico and Johns Hopkins, to lead the FDA
- Overton has appeared alongside the president on his 'most favored nation' drug pricing deals and his order to split the combined MMR vaccine into three separate shots, against the advice of medical groups
- Overton stood by Trump at an Oval Office event where he falsely suggested vaccines could play a role in rising autism rates, and she has been critical of abortion pills, positioning her to roll back FDA rules expanding access
- Dr. Marty Makary resigned as FDA commissioner in May, leaving unfinished projects on ultraprocessed foods, antidepressants and COVID-19 shots after drawing complaints over flavored e-cigarettes and biotech drug rejections
- Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate HELP Committee that will vet Overton, has publicly criticized Trump's vaccine actions including the MMR order
- Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) slammed the pick on social media, calling Overton 'a far-right, anti-abortion extremist who has no business leading the FDA'
- The FDA faces a stack of pending Kennedy-aligned priorities, including peptide regulation, a first-of-its-kind ultraprocessed food definition, an antidepressant safety review and two active summer foodborne illness outbreaks tied to iceberg lettuce and jalapeño peppers
Why it matters: Overton inherits an FDA torn between Trump's anti-regulatory instincts, Kennedy's MAHA agenda and industry pressure, and her record of standing by Trump's contested vaccine claims raises a confirmation fight with Sen. Cassidy, a Republican physician who has already criticized the MMR order she championed.
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