Overton trained under Makary, defended him in administration
President Trump has selected one of his top White House health aides, Dr. Heidi Overton, as his next choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, people familiar with the matter said.
Overton, who helps lead the Domestic Policy Council, has guided many of the health policies of Trump’s second term and was by the president’s side earlier this month when he signed an executive order to pare back the list of recommended childhood vaccines and tied immunization to autism — a connection scientists say does not exist.
The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed commissioner since May, when Trump removed Dr. Marty Makary amid disagreement over vaping policy. The FDA has been led on an acting basis by Kyle Diamantas, a former head of the agency’s food division and an attorney.
Overton trained under Makary at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and defended him in the administration, people familiar with the matter said. She holds a medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and a doctorate in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Overton will face a confirmation hearing before the Senate health committee led by Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who has criticized Trump’s recent moves on vaccines. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly praised Overton, but some of his allies have blamed her for slowing some of his preferred “Make America Healthy Again” policies, people familiar with the matter said.
Overton did not favor moves to loosen marijuana regulation and boost psychedelics, though she ultimately worked to rush out Trump’s executive order on psychedelics, the people said. She previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, the think tank previously led by Brooke Rollins, now agriculture secretary.
Bloomberg earlier reported Overton’s selection.
Advisers earlier this summer submitted three names to Trump for the FDA post: Overton, New York oncologist Dr. Jeff Vacirca, and Dr. Stephen Ferrara, a top health official in the Defense Department. Some in the pharmaceutical industry who viewed Overton as too closely tied to Makary voiced opposition to her nomination, people familiar with the matter said.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R., Ga.), a pharmacist, was also discussed by officials as a possible nominee and was interested in the position, a person familiar with the matter said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.