Dr. Heidi Overton is President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, he announced on Wednesday.
Dr. Marty Makary led the agency until May, and it is now led by Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas.
“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 said of Overton in a Truth Social post. Bloomberg reported earlier that she would be the president's likely choice.
“She is known to take on the HARDEST issues, and bring me solutions that work best for the Country. Heidi is ‘ALWAYS RIGHT,’ Secretary Kennedy recently said in the Oval Office! We need her leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES,” he continued.
“Dr. Heidi will work with Secretary Kennedy and Dr. Oz to RAPIDLY deliver on my priorities of FASTER Cures, INCREASED American Innovation, MAJOR Clinical Trial Reforms, LOWER Drug Prices, and even more MAHA WINS!” he added.
Overton was most recently spotted in the Oval Office for Trump’s Executive Order earlier this month pushing for a different childhood vaccine schedule.
Just saw the Bloomberg report by @rachelcohrs that Heidi Overton is the President’s pick for @FDA Commissioner. I’ve been saying this since the job opened up last spring: she would be an outstanding choice. Real leader. Genuine humility. Reputation for working well with others.… https://t.co/vWZRJIbqtC pic.twitter.com/yxSkpePdTY
— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) August 19, 2026
“These are the Gold Standard childhood vaccine recommendations, and you should put this into your state law so that when parents go to enroll their kids in school, they do not have to meet some of the requirements for the vaccines that are no longer recommended for all children,” Overton said at the time.