August 19, 2026
3 min read
Key takeaways:
- Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, will face a Senate committee for a nomination hearing.
- Experts highlighted their concerns with the pick, including the promotion of personal ideologies over evidence-based science.
Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, has been nominated to lead the FDA.
The pick from President Donald J. Trump comes months after Martin Makary, MD, resigned from the position in May.
Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post Wednesday, calling Overton “a ROCKSTAR” in the administration, “where she has worked directly with Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz, and team, to deliver on the MOST TRANSFORMATIVE Health Agenda in History.”
Overton is currently deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. She previously served as a White House fellow in Trump’s first term and chief policy officer and vice chair of America First’s Center for a Healthy America.
Reaction
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, founding head of the division of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told Healio that the nomination is a “cluster of red flags.”
“She’s a super enthusiastic MAHA supporter, and that doesn’t really lend itself to a having a background in the key aspects of FDA work — approving new drugs and therapies and watching out for the need to recall dangerous drugs. I don’t see that in her background,” Caplan said. “She’s trained well … I just don’t see her having done much in the particular core space when it comes to things like FDA’s responsibilities.”
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, professor at Georgetown Law and director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health at Georgetown University, agreed.
“On paper, Dr. Overton is qualified, as she has strong medical and academic credentials. But her background does not align with the traditional regulatory depth associated with the head of the FDA,” he told Healio. “Most concerning are her clearly partisan leanings. She will bring a fiercely ideological perspective to the FDA, making her unsuitable to handle scientific decisions including those regarding vaccines and reproductive health.”
One of Caplan’s major issues is that Overton stood behind Trump at a recent press conference where he issued an executive order recommending that the U.S. reduce the number of vaccines recommended for all children.
“[Considering] her endorsement of that executive order by Trump on vaccines, I don’t think she would be trustworthy,” he said.
Caplan said another big issue for him is accessibility of abortion pills.
“FDA, for political reasons, ideological reasons, has opened up another investigation into the safety of those pills. It’s been established again and again that they are safe and that they do work,” he said.
Caplan questioned whether Overton’s personal beliefs will “undermine the evidence” of abortion pills.
According to reporting by The New York Times, acting FDA commissioner Kyle Diamantas, JD, declined to be a candidate for the position permanently.
“Right now … the FDA role is an extremely tough one,” Caplan said, highlighting recent food contamination issues, which may put off some candidates, and skepticism toward government regulation.
Gostin agreed, saying the FDA commissioner position “has become politicized by the Trump administration.”
Next steps
Before officially taking the position, Overton must face the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, which has previously been a roadblock for the administration’s picks. Just a few weeks before Makary’s resignation, Trump pulled his surgeon general nominee because she did not have enough votes to clear the committee.
More recently, on Aug. 5, the Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH, as the next CDC director.
Gostin said he expects Overton to take the position because the administration “has managed to push controversial candidates through Senate confirmation.”
Caplan said the vote will likely hinge on members like HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La.
“It’s the usual close call,” he said. “It’s tough to predict. People I didn’t think would necessarily get approved have gotten approved after some tough questioning, making some promises. It’s going to be close.”
For more information:
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, and Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, can be reached at primarycare@healio.com.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Healio Interviews
References:
Disclosures:
Caplan and Gostin report no relevant financial disclosures.
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