Trump’s FDA nominee draws mixed reception
The Hill · C · trust 45/100
President Trump on Wednesday announced Dr. Heidi Overton as his pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which drew varied reactions from the health sector.
© Jacquelyn Martin, The Associated Press
“Dr. Heidi has been a ROCKSTAR in my Administration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We need her leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES.”
Overton’s nomination comes three months after former Commissioner Marty Makary stepped down in May.
Overton is a major proponent of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement. Last week, she stood beside Trump when he announced an executive order aimed at reducing and separating the childhood vaccine schedule.
At the time, she urged blue states to follow the administration’s “gold standard” recommendations, which were widely denounced by most pediatricians, major medical groups and public health experts.
Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care, slammed her nomination, saying in a statement, “Handing the FDA to Heidi Overton is like handing an arsonist keys to the fire department. She stood there and applauded while Trump tore up the vaccine schedule without any scientific basis. Now Trump wants her responsible for the safety of every vaccine, drug, and food product Americans put into their bodies.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate health committee that will preside over Overton’s confirmation, said on social media that her involvement with Trump’s vaccine order was “almost disqualifying.”
“While I respect Dr. Overton’s experience as a physician, I have strong concerns about her nomination to be FDA Commissioner,” Cassidy wrote on X.
“Her lack of managerial experience does not prepare her well for leading a large organization that is already dealing with staffing and morale issues,” he added. “Additionally, Dr. Overton’s active role in last week’s nonsensical vaccine executive order calls into question her commitment to standing up for sound science and protecting children’s health.”
Groups like the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and Americans United for Life welcomed her nomination, with the former citing her “extensive experience in medicine, public health, and health policy.”
Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, pointed to Overton’s outspoken opposition to abortion, particularly the abortion pill mifepristone.
For an administration that doesn’t seem to want to commit to a position against mifepristone, Timmaraju called the pick of Overton “very stupid.”
She told The Hill her group is planning to use Overton’s past writings and statements to run ads against vulnerable Republicans, in an effort to show how the Trump administration is elevating anti-abortion extremists.
“She’s one of the most extreme, one of the most unhinged folks we’ve seen,” Timmaraju said.
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