Trump nominates White House aide Heidi Overton to lead the FDA

President Donald Trump announced Dr. Heidi Overton as his nominee to become the next commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Overton is deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and has been a senior health-policy adviser during Trump’s second term. She has worked closely with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Trump said Overton would advance priorities including faster drug approvals, clinical-trial reform, lower drug prices and increased U.S. biomedical innovation.

Overton is a physician with a Ph.D. and previously worked at the conservative America First Policy Institute.

She would succeed Dr. Marty Makary, who resigned in May after roughly three months as commissioner.

The nomination requires Senate confirmation. She is likely to face scrutiny over her views on abortion, vaccines and the administration’s broader Make America Healthy Again agenda.

The FDA is also under pressure to restore stability after losing more than 3,000 employees, including senior division leaders, according to Reuters. Critics worry that Overton’s close ties to the White House could further politicize the regulator.