WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Dr. Heidi Overton, a top White House aide, has been picked to lead , President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.
Overton is a medical doctor and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council who has worked on several of Trump鈥檚 second-term health initiatives. She has become a trusted administration figure and a champion of the Republican president鈥檚 goals.
If confirmed by the Senate, she would have to balance a raft of competing priorities, including Trump鈥檚 fixations, the anti-regulatory interests of traditional Republicans and the anti-corporate posture of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Those challenges dogged the tenure of the previous FDA head, . He resigned in May, leaving behind unfinished projects such as work on ultraprocessed foods, antidepressants and COVID-19 shots.
Referring to her as 鈥淒r. Heidi鈥� in a Truth Social post, Trump said Overton was a smart and respected 鈥渞ockstar鈥� who would deliver on his priorities of faster cures, innovation, lower drug prices and more wins for Kennedy鈥檚 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥� movement.
Kennedy posted on X that Overton has 鈥渆xceptional judgment, professionalism, discipline and an unwavering commitment to the American people.鈥�
Overton has promoted Trump鈥檚 health priorities
Overton attended medical school at the University of New Mexico and has a doctoral degree in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before joining Trump鈥檚 second administration, she was the chief policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.
In recent months, she has appeared with the president to announce major projects, including some of his with drug companies to lower prices to those of other developed countries and his recent that sought to split the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into 鈥� against the advice of medical groups.
At an Oval Office event to promote that order, she stood by Trump as he falsely suggested the number or timing of vaccines could play a role in rising rates of autism spectrum disorder. Scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded .
Overton of abortion pills and, if confirmed, would be positioned to roll back FDA rules that made them more accessible. U.S. abortion opponents have expressed frustration that the administration has not acted to stem the flow of such pills prescribed online, a situation they view as undermining state abortion bans.
Mifepristone is typically used with in medication abortions that make up close to two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. Medical professionals call it 鈥渁mong the safest medications鈥� ever approved by the FDA.
To be confirmed, Overton must seek approval from a narrowly Republican-led Senate and face questions from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Its chair, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, has been a vocal critic of some of Trump鈥檚 actions to sow doubt in vaccinations, including the MMR order.
Democratic senators slammed the nomination on social media.
鈥淗eidi Overton is a far-right, anti-abortion extremist who has no business leading the FDA,鈥� posted Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a committee member.
Makary鈥檚 replacement will face challenges he left behind
Before he left the FDA, Makary from health industry executives and . The frustration with him came to a head over the agency鈥檚 lack of movement on flavored e-cigarettes. Companies such as R.J. Reynolds are seeking to market to adult smokers, but sweet-flavored vapes have long been blamed for the trend of teenage vaping. FDA scientists have hesitated to endorse those products to curb adult smoking.
Days before Makary’s departure, the agency opened the door to allowing more and onto the U.S. market, in a policy change that FDA experts.
Pharmaceutical companies will be looking for changes at the agency, too, after rejections or reversals of biotech drugs intended for rare diseases. Complaints from biotech companies, investors and patient groups have grown and been taken up by conservative lawmakers.
Makary tried to assuage industry grievances, in part by announcing new programs designed to streamline or accelerate drug approvals. Some of those initiatives, however, have meant new headaches for the agency.
Several of Makary鈥檚 deputies also exited the agency.
, the vaccine and biotech chief, stepped down in April following intense criticism from drugmakers, patients and investors. , who was involved in scrutinizing the safety of antidepressants, and , was replaced as FDA鈥檚 acting drug center director.
MAHA has high expectations of FDA’s next head
Overton would also need to tend to the priorities of Kennedy鈥檚 health movement, some members of which are already skeptical of her.
Kelly Ryerson, an activist critical of pesticides who is known to her supporters as 鈥淕lyphosate Girl,鈥� told The Associated Press that Overton parroted pesticide manufacturer Bayer’s talking points in a MAHA roundtable at the White House in April.
鈥淚 was stunned by the blatant, undisguised corruption,鈥� Ryerson said.
One major decision for the next commissioner is what to do about peptide regulation. A panel of federal health advisers recently to that are popular with wellness influencers and celebrities, despite warnings from FDA scientists that the chemicals have not been shown to be safe or effective.
The agency recently proposed that would require food manufacturers to notify regulators before introducing new ingredients or additives into processed or . But it is still working with the White House to finalize a first-of-its-kind definition of ultraprocessed foods, which Kennedy blames for elevated rates of diabetes, obesity and other chronic conditions.
Under Kennedy, the FDA has set up extra hurdles for vaccine testing and blocked the publication of research into the effectiveness of COVID-19 shots. Kennedy stood by Trump recently as the president signed the executive order aimed at in the U.S. despite unprecedented .
The FDA also has an ongoing review of widely used antidepressants, including whether they may increase the risk of autism and other disorders when used during pregnancy. The medicines have long been a target of Kennedy, who was a leader in the anti-vaccine movement before joining the government.
In recent weeks, the agency has been investigating two summertime foodborne illness outbreaks: a cyclospora outbreak linked to tainted iceberg lettuce that has and a linked to jalape帽o peppers.
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Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press journalist Laura Ungar contributed from Louisville, Kentucky.
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