President Donald Trump nominated White House domestic policy aide Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, positioning a conservative physician and former think tank executive to helm the sweeping regulatory agency following the May resignation of Dr. Marty Makary.
President Donald Trump selected Dr. Heidi Overton as his next choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, turning to a trusted advisor who has shaped his second-term health agenda. Overton serves as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and previously worked as chief policy officer at the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute.
According to a senior administration official with knowledge of the process, Overton was Trump’s third choice for the position, with the administration interviewing candidates as recently as Tuesday after former Representative Brad Wenstrup of Ohio and acting commissioner Kyle Diamantas declined the role. If confirmed by the Senate, she will inherit an agency operating under an acting commissioner, Kyle Diamantas, following the departure of former commissioner Dr. Marty Makary in May.
Policy Priorities and the Make America Healthy Again Agenda
Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social on Wednesday, praising Overton’s alignment with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“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!”
Overton has spent months overseeing signature health policy efforts, including pharmaceutical pricing negotiations known as most favored nation deals and administration pushes to redesign the federal food pyramid and overhaul childhood vaccine schedules. Earlier this month, she stood alongside Trump in the Oval Office when he signed an executive order aimed at reducing standard childhood vaccinations from 18 to 11 and splitting the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three separate immunizations.
Overton’s background includes medical training at the University of New Mexico and a doctoral degree in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University according to her LinkedIn profile. Her conservative policy record includes critical writings on abortion pills and celebration of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. If confirmed, she would oversee an agency currently conducting a safety review of mifepristone amid Republican pressure to reverse Biden-era rules permitting the medication to be mailed and dispensed via telehealth.
With the nomination moving to Capitol Hill, lawmakers and public health observers are watching to see how Overton balances the anti-regulatory goals of traditional Republicans against the distinct health priorities championed by Kennedy. Whether her close alignment with White House policy initiatives will accelerate confirmation or draw prolonged opposition from committee Democrats remains the central question facing the administration’s health team this session.
Trump Picks White House Adviser Heidi Overton To Lead FDA In Major Leadership Change
