Trump nominates policy aide Dr. Heidi Overton as next FDA commissioner
(CBS NEWS) – According to CBS, President Trump on Wednesday announced he’s nominating Dr. Heidi Overton, a physician and deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy at the White House, to be the next head of the Food and Drug Administration.
Overton, who earned her doctor of medicine from the University of New Mexico, has worked closely with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said she has helped them “to deliver on the MOST TRANSFORMATIVE Health Agenda in History.”
“She is known to take on the HARDEST issues, and bring me solutions that work best for the Country,” he wrote. “Heidi is ‘ALWAYS RIGHT,’ Secretary Kennedy recently said in the Oval Office! We need her leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES.”
“Dr. Heidi will work with Secretary Kennedy and Dr. Oz to RAPIDLY deliver on my priorities of FASTER Cures, INCREASED American Innovation, MAJOR Clinical Trial Reforms, LOWER Drug Prices, and even more MAHA WINS!” he wrote.
Overton was among the few officials in the Oval Office earlier this month when Mr. Trump signed an executive order recommending limits and changes to childhood vaccines.
Overton completed her general surgery residency at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was a White House fellow during Mr. Trump’s first term.
Overton will need to be confirmed by the Senate. And one Republican, outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor, is already voicing concerns about her.
“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. 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. That alone is almost disqualifying.”
The FDA currently has an acting commissioner, Kyle Diamantas, after former commissioner Dr. Marty Makary resigned in May amid tensions at the organization. At the time, one source familiar with the matter told CBS News that Makary was leaving over the internal debate over flavored e-cigarettes, saying that Makary didn’t want to approve the flavored varieties but had been forced to by other members of the administration. Critics of the flavored e-cigarettes worry about the attraction for children.
