Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Dr. Heidi Overton (right), accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks in the Oval Office before President Donald Trump signs an executive order calling for childhood vaccine shots to be spaced out into separate visits at the White House on Aug. 10, 2026.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration will face challenges securing Senate confirmation after the committee chairman in charge of that process expressed doubts. That, however, hasn’t deterred White House officials from pressing for Dr. Heidi Overton, arguing she has the experience needed and that her policy goals align with the president's. “As Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, Dr. Heidi Overton has spent the last year and a half coordinating an interagency policymaking process with senior officials across HHS, FDA, CDC, USDA, and other agencies to deliver on President Trump’s MAHA agenda,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement shared with States Newsroom on Thursday.“Dr. Overton has been integral to ensuring that the Administration’s policies are correct, consistent, and grounded in Gold Standard Science, and will play a similar role at the FDA as its next Commissioner,” Desai added. “The White House looks forward to her swift confirmation by the Senate.”
