Heidi Overton vs. RFK Jr. on Vaccines: What to Know About Trump’s FDA Pick — Newsweek

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Heidi Overton vs. RFK Jr. on Vaccines: What to Know About Trump’s FDA Pick — Newsweek | AIPROPX

0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is nominating Dr. Heidi Overton, a White House health policy adviser and physician, to serve as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ), putting a key architect of the administration's health agenda in charge of one of the nation's most powerful health agencies.

The nomination comes at a time when vaccine policy has become one of the most contentious issues inside the Trump administration, with Overton at times viewed differently from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spent decades questioning vaccine safety and became one of the country's most prominent vaccine skeptics.

If confirmed by the Senate, Overton would inherit an agency that has faced months of upheaval after the departure of former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and would oversee vaccine approvals, drug regulation, food safety and public health policy.

Overton's nomination puts a physician with a traditional medical and public health background at the helm of an agency increasingly caught between competing forces inside the administration. Kennedy has championed sweeping changes to federal vaccine policy and has repeatedly questioned vaccine safety, while many public health officials continue to defend long-standing immunization programs.

The FDA commissioner plays a central role in decisions involving vaccine approvals, labeling, clinical trials and public health guidance. As a result, Overton's views on immunization are likely to face intense scrutiny during Senate confirmation hearings, particularly after the administration's recent efforts to reshape childhood vaccine recommendations.

Overton is a physician and public health specialist who currently serves as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

She earned a medical degree from the University of New Mexico, completed surgical training at Johns Hopkins and later received a Ph.D. in clinical investigation. She is board-certified in public health and preventive medicine.

Before joining Trump's second administration, Overton worked at the conservative America First Policy Institute, where she led health policy initiatives. She also served as a White House fellow during Trump's first term and has been closely involved in health policy decisions across the administration.

Trump praised Overton as a "rockstar" who had worked alongside Kennedy and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz on what he called the administration's "most transformative" health agenda, adding that Kennedy had described her as "always right."

As a White House health adviser, she was present when Trump signed a recent executive order directing federal agencies to pursue changes to childhood vaccination schedules, including separating some routine childhood immunizations into different visits.

Her role in vaccine policy has placed her at the center of debates over how far the administration should go in altering existing immunization recommendations. Reports have suggested she has sometimes pushed back against elements of Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, creating friction with some activists who favor more aggressive changes to federal vaccine policy.

Because the FDA oversees vaccine approvals and post-market safety monitoring, lawmakers are expected to closely examine Overton's views during confirmation proceedings.

Kennedy has spent decades questioning vaccine safety and has become one of the most prominent figures in the modern anti-vaccine movement. Before joining the Trump administration as HHS secretary, he repeatedly raised concerns about routine childhood vaccinations and COVID-19 vaccines.

Since taking office, Kennedy has backed several efforts to revisit federal vaccine policy and has argued for greater scrutiny of vaccine safety. His views have often put him at odds with public health experts and mainstream medical organizations, which continue to maintain that approved vaccines are safe and effective.

Newsweek has previously reported on Kennedy's comments regarding the measles vaccine, COVID-19 vaccines and efforts to overhaul childhood vaccine recommendations, issues that remain central to ongoing public debate.

Kennedy publicly praised Overton before her nomination. In announcing the FDA pick, Trump highlighted a remark he said Kennedy recently made in the Oval Office, describing Overton as "always right."

The endorsement suggests that, despite occasional policy differences and tensions within the broader MAHA movement, Kennedy remains supportive of Overton's elevation to lead the FDA. Trump also emphasized that Overton had worked directly with Kennedy on major administration health priorities and would continue advancing those goals if confirmed.

Former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned in May 2026 after a turbulent tenure marked by policy disputes and controversy inside the agency. His departure left the FDA without a Senate-confirmed leader and prompted a monthslong search for a replacement.

According to reports, Makary's exit followed disagreements within the administration, including debates involving flavored e-cigarettes and other regulatory decisions. Following his resignation, Kyle Diamantas has served as acting commissioner.

Overton's past writings on abortion are also likely to attract attention during her confirmation process. Reports have noted that she has written critically about abortion, describing it as harmful to women and arguing that abortion medications present health risks.

Her views align with many anti-abortion conservatives but differ from the positions of major medical organizations, which have generally concluded that medication abortion is safe when used under approved guidelines.

The issue coul...