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 as he signed a new executive order to pare back the list of recommended childhood vaccines and tied immunization to
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 as he signed a new executive order to pare back the list of recommended childhood vaccines and tied immunization to autism—a connection scientists say doesn’t exist.
Trump ousted his last FDA Commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, in May, after a string of management headaches for the White House and disagreement over vaping policy. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Overton previously trained under Makary at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was a staunch defender of him in the administration. She will need Senate confirmation and will face a hearing before the Senate’s health committee, led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), who has blasted 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 down some of his preferred Make America Healthy Again policies. She also didn’t favor moves to loosen regulation on marijuana and boost psychedelics, though she ultimately worked to rush out Trump’s executive order on psychedelics, people familiar with the matter said.
Overton previously worked at America First Policy Institute, the think tank previously helmed by Brooke Rollins, now agriculture secretary. Bloomberg earlier reported Overton’s selection.
Advisers earlier this summer submitted to Trump names for three possible choices to lead the FDA, which is currently being led on an acting basis by its former food division head, attorney Kyle Diamantas. The three candidates were 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 their 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, people familiar with the matter said. Carter was interested in the position, a person familiar with the matter said.
Overton obtained her 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.
Write to Liz Essley Whyte at liz.whyte@wsj.com
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