Trump Nominates White House Aide Heidi Overton to Lead FDA Amid Turmoil

President Donald Trump nominated White House policy aide Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 20.

Trump announced the selection in a social media post, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. He stated Overton would work to speed up new treatments, boost US innovation, and reform clinical trials. Overton is a medical doctor and a deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy at the White House, working on health issues.

She holds a doctorate in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University, worked at the America First Policy Institute, and was a White House fellow in the first Trump administration. TheThe nomination follows months of turmoil at the FDA, marked by high-profile staff exits. Former commissioner Marty Makary resigned in May after 13 months, and Kyle Diamantas, an attorney who led the agency’s food division, has been acting commissioner.

Overton faces Senate confirmation. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), chairman of the Senate health committee, expressed strong concerns over Overton's support for Trump's nonsensical vaccine executive order and called her record almost disqualifying. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, reproductive rights advocates, and public health experts, oppose her, citing her extensive anti-abortion record and support for controversial changes to federal vaccine policy.

Reproductive Freedom for All states Overton celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade and advocated for politicization of government agencies to advance an anti-abortion agenda. Pro-life leaders and the Make America Healthy Again movement have praised her selection, with some calling for her to pull the abortion pill from the market. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Overton, calling her the best person for the job.

Trump said she would work with Secretary Kennedy and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz. Overton is a board-certified physician in public health and general preventive medicine and a UNM School of Medicine graduate from New Mexico.