President Donald Trump has named Heidi Overton as his pick for the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, ending three months without a permanent leader.
Overton, who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D., currently serves as a White House aide and will now face a Senate confirmation process to become the country’s top drug regulator.
Trump announced his decision in a post on Truth Social, using characteristically emphatic language to praise his nominee’s record within his administration.
“Dr. Heidi has been a ROCKSTAR in my Administration, where she has worked directly with Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz, and team, to deliver on the MOST TRANSFORMATIVE Health Agenda in History,” the president wrote.
Trump added: “We need her leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES.”
Overton’s expected nomination was first reported by Bloomberg News before being confirmed by a person familiar with the situation to industry outlet Fierce Biotech.
She received her medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine before earning a doctorate in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Overton served as a White House fellow during Trump’s first term and later joined the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank founded in 2021 by Trump administration veterans, where she led the MAHA-aligned Center for a Healthy America.
She also served as chief policy officer at the institute before rejoining the Trump administration after his 2024 election victory as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered an enthusiastic endorsement of Overton, outlining an ambitious agenda he expects her to pursue at the agency.
“I have seen her challenge assumptions, demand excellence, and turn bold ideas into meaningful results,” Kennedy said in a post on X, adding that she would modernise drug approvals and restore what he called Gold Standard Science.
Her path to confirmation is not without potential obstacles, as she must first pass scrutiny from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy.
Cassidy, himself a physician, previously voted reluctantly for Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS Secretary, and having lost his reelection primary to a Trump-backed candidate, he has emerged as a possible complication for administration nominees.
The FDA vacancy arose in May when former Commissioner Marty Makary departed, leaving the agency under the interim leadership of Kyle Diamantas, who comes from the agency’s food regulation division.
Under Diamantas, the FDA has appeared relatively stable, reversing some contested decisions while continuing to implement reforms designed to accelerate drug development and approval timelines.