Trump's FDA Pick Overton Calls Vaccines, Mifepristone Safe in Hearing

Heidi Overton, President Trump's nominee for FDA commissioner, stated that FDA-approved vaccines and the abortion pill mifepristone are safe and effective during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).

Overton, currently a White House policy advisor, focused her opening statement on speeding up drug development to compete with China. HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) questioned her extensively on vaccination, noting that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., had backtracked on vaccine access promises. Cassidy criticized Overton for supporting Trump's executive order to split the childhood vaccine schedule into more doses, an order he said had zero scientific evidence.

Overton affirmed, "The MMR vaccine is not lethal," and that every vaccine on the U.S. market right now are safe and effective according to the FDA, despite Trump previously calling the MMR shot potentially quite lethal. Washington Democrat Patty Murray questioned Overton on whether an IUD is an abortifacient, to which Overton responded she would be fully briefed on all their prior decisions and make determinations according to the standards of safety and efficacy if confirmed.

A coalition of 50 pro-life leaders called on Overton to restore earlier safeguards on mifepristone and revoke the Biden administration's mail-order abortion scheme, which they stated was made permanent in 2023. The committee will vote next on sending Overton’s nomination to the full Senate for approval.