// ARS TECHNICA — SALUTE
Trump expected to pick conservative policy wonk Heidi Overton to lead FDA
She opposes abortion, is wary of peptides, supports limiting vaccines, vexes MAHA.
President Trump is expected to nominate Heidi Overton, a top conservative policy aide, as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, according to multiple media reports.
Overton is currently the deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and has played a key role in shaping a variety of health policies during Trump’s second term. At times, she has notably angered members of the Make America Healthy Again movement, which was created by anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Overton has a medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and earned a doctoral degree in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. While at Johns Hopkins, she worked with Marty Makary, the previous FDA commissioner who was ousted by Trump amid a cacophony of controversies.
Makary and his political appointees at the FDA sparked anger and criticism due to a string of dubious moves on drugs for rare diseases, frustrating patients and the pharmaceutical industry alike. He also earned the ire of the tobacco industry, public health advocates, anti-abortion groups, and a variety of federal officials. According to sources for The Wall Street Journal, Overton was a staunch defender of Makary during his time in the role.
Prior to Overton’s current White House role, she worked on health policy for the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank previously helmed by Brooke Rollins, who now serves as Trump’s agriculture secretary.
In terms of her policy positions, The New York Times highlights that Overton has written articles calling abortion “corrosive” to women and calling abortion pills “far more dangerous to women,” despite extensive data suggesting that abortion pills are extremely safe. Experts have noted that they are safer than taking Viagra or getting a colonoscopy and significantly safer than giving birth. Still, Overton’s position aligns with conservative efforts to get the FDA to restrict access to abortion pills.
On vaccines, Overton appeared with Trump last week as he signed a widely decried executive order calling for American children to get fewer vaccines, despite no evidence in support of the move but plenty indicating harm. Overton made comments that the administration would begin working directly with states to reduce vaccination recommendations. Trump’s order has no legal power to change vaccination requirements for schools, which are made at the state level.
While Overton appears in line with Kennedy’s ardent anti-vaccine agenda, she seems wary of his unilateral push to ease access to peptide drugs, according to reporting from The Atlantic in July. Many popular peptide drugs have little to no data on their safety and efficacy but pose clear health risks. Peptides have become a fad among the MAHA crowd, with supplement hawkers and online influencers claiming, without evidence, that they provide a variety of benefits. Kennedy has described himself as a “big fan,” and, as such, the FDA has begun a process to make them more accessible—over the objections of FDA career scientists.
The Atlantic also reported that Overton pushed back on some aspects of Kennedy’s overhaul of dietary guidelines—which nutrition and health experts also criticized. She was also reportedly not in favor of the Trump administration’s moves to loosen marijuana regulations and promote psychedelics.