Donald Trump nominated Dr Heidi Overton – an abortion opponent who stood next to the president as he made false claims about vaccines – to be commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Today I am honored to nominate the wonderful Dr. Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, as our next FDA Commissioner. Dr. Heidi has been a ROCKSTAR in my Administration, where she has worked directly with Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz, and team, 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,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
He continued: “She is SMART and RESPECTED by all! 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!”
The FDA, which regulates the nation’s drugs, medical devices and much of its food supply, has spent the bulk of the second Trump administration in tumult following widespread job cuts and disease outbreaks.
Overton would also take the reins of an agency tasked with regulating medication abortions, specifically the drug mifepristone, which has become an important piece of abortion access for the 23 million women living in states with bans. In a 2023 policy brief, Overton has previously described mifepristone as “teleabortion” and “abortion-on-demand”, which Congress should work to strictly regulate “to protect women and children”.
More recently, Overton appeared with Trump during a press conference for an executive order to split up the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) described the order as “not only disheartening but dangerous”. The executive order has been widely cited by health experts as sowing confusion about vaccinations even as the US is in the midst of the worst measles outbreak in 30 years.
“We do still recommend the measles vaccine for all children, but we want parents to be informed about the timing and to have the option to separate them out,” Overton said. “So, Mr President, this is a historic action. We are going to be working directly with states so that we’re not reliant on the court case to resolve.”
Trump repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the change would improve autism rates, even though studies have found no connection between autism and vaccines.
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“So you are saying, especially to states that are willing, take a look at this scientific assessment, these are the gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations,” said Overton.
She also criticized “blue states” for following the guidance from the AAP, and not the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose expert advisory panel on vaccines was fired by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine opponent.
She is reportedly Trump’s third pick for the FDA position. NBC News reported that Trump initially tapped Kyle Diamantas, the acting FDA commissioner and a former corporate lawyer, and then the Ohio Republican Bret Wenstrup.
