Trump’s latest pick for FDA head backs president over vaccines and vapes

AI Summary

Heidi Overton, nominated by Donald Trump to lead the US FDA, defended the president’s approach to contentious health issues during a Senate confirmation hearing. Senators questioned her on vaccines, mifepristone, and flavored vapes; her appointment requires committee approval followed by Senate confirmation.

Heidi Overton, Donald Trump’s nominee to head the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has refused to diverge from the president on controversial health policies, including his plan to split the MMR vaccine into separate injections.In a senate hearing on 24 September, the first major step to confirming her to the post, Overton said, “The president asks questions and wants the best outcomes for the American people.”At the hearing, the Senate’s Health, Education, Labour, and Pensions Committee pushed Overton to answer questions on topics including vaccine safety, the abortion pill mifepristone, and flavored vapes, among others.Overton is currently deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. She is certified in public health and general preventive medicine and holds a doctorate in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.To be confirmed as FDA commissioner she will need the approval of the 21 member bipartisan committee and then...