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Trump's FDA Pick Overton Faces Senate Scrutiny
Confirmed
In Short: Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the embattled Food and Drug Administration (FDA), faced a contentious confirmation hearing before the Senate health committee on Thursday.
Overton, a White House policy aide and preventive medicine physician, was grilled by senators on her views on vaccines and abortion drugs.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the committee's Republican chairman, pressed Overton on the safety of vaccines, particularly the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Overton also faced questions about her stance on abortion drugs, including mifepristone, the nation's leading abortion pill.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington pointed out that Overton had previously called medication abortion dangerous to women.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut criticized Overton for avoiding direct answers on the administration's approval of flavored nicotine pouches and vapes.
Overton said she would prioritize protecting children from harmful products and cracking down on illicit vapes, particularly those from China.
Overton's confirmation hearing highlighted the challenges she faces in leading the FDA, which has been shaken by staff losses and morale issues.
If confirmed, Overton would be the youngest FDA commissioner ever, at 37 years old.
Overton's confirmation will require a majority vote from the 21-member health committee and a positive vote from the full Senate.
What's confirmed
- Overton called the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade "a huge victory for life," and anti-abortion groups have welcomed her nomination.
- WASHINGTON, Sept 24 - The US Senate health committee will hold a confirmation hearing on Thursday for Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the embattled FDA, as it also weighs advancing his surgeon general nominee.
- Trump nominated Overton, a White House policy aide, in August, turning to an "America First" ally to steady an agency shaken by staff losses, low morale and fights over vaccines, the abortion pill and drug approvals.
- If confirmed, Overton will take over a Food and Drug Administration that has lost more than 3,000 staff over the past year, including division heads, and is under pressure to rebuild confidence among industry and public-health groups.
- Overton, a preventive medicine physician and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.
- Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the panel's Republican chairman and a physician increasingly critical of the administration's approach to immunization, is likely to press Overton on vaccines.
- Overton is also likely to be pressed on whether she would defy Health Secretary Robert F.
- That question has become a fixture of recent confirmation hearings for Trump health nominees.
- Overton's anti-abortion views are expected to draw Democratic scrutiny and opposition from abortion-rights advocates.
- President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Food and Drug Administration will face questions from Senate lawmakers considering her nomination.
What's still developing
- Cassidy, who is a key vote in Overton’s confirmation, has been pushing the administration to reverse a Biden-era rule that allows mifepristone to be prescribed via telemedicine and sent through the mail.
- Art Caplan, the head of the medical ethics division at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, said Overton’s views on abortion appear to align with Cassidy’s.
- Prior to that, she worked as chief policy officer at the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute, where she praised the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and called for strict restrictions on medication abortion, claiming that it is “ dangerous to women.” (Studies have shown that the drug, even when taken at home, is safe and effective.) If confirmed, Overton would take over an agency that has been without a permanent commissioner since Makary resigned in May, in part over the administration’s decision to authorize several fruit-flavored vapes for adults.
- On CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Cassidy — who has also aggressively questioned and pressed several Trump administration nominees on vaccines — said Overton must acknowledge that Trump’s claim that the measles vaccine is lethal is “absurd” when she appears before his committee.
- Overton, Reiss said, doesn’t appear to have expertise in clinical trials, managing an agency or any of the products the FDA regulates.
- “As an MD/PhD who helped President Trump deliver on Operation Warp Speed during his first term, Dr. Heidi Overton will ensure that policymaking is guided solely by Gold Standard Science at the FDA,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
- Heidi Overton, a fierce opponent of abortion rights, is set to appear before senators Thursday for her confirmation hearing to lead the Food and Drug Administration.
- Marty Makary, to complete a safety review that they both promised during their confirmation hearings.
- As commissioner, Overton would serve as a key ally to Kennedy, whose department oversees the FDA.
- Overton is a proponent of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
- Heidi Overton, the Trump administration’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, will appear before a Senate committee this morning at 10:30 a.m.
- Overton has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and industry leaders for her relative lack of managerial experience, and also for her adherence to policies pushed by health secretary Robert F.