Overview
- HHS is reported to be creating two new deputy commissioner posts at the FDA — one focused on technology and AI and one for drugs — according to multiple news reports on Aug. 25, 2026.
- Jared Seehafer, an FDA senior adviser and former medical‑device executive, is described as the leading candidate for the technology post in the reporting.
- The planned deputies would report to Heidi Overton, President Trump’s pick to lead the FDA, but no final appointments have been announced and Overton still needs Senate confirmation.
- The move follows months of leadership churn and high‑profile regulatory disputes at the FDA, including the May resignation of Marty Makary, acting leadership by Kyle Diamantas, contested decisions on Replimune, uniQure and Capricor drugs, and criticism over the agency’s handling of a multistate cyclospora outbreak.
- If implemented, the technology deputy would centrally oversee both the FDA’s internal use of generative AI tools and the agency’s review of AI‑enabled medical products, a change that could shift how quickly regulators set rules and how industry approaches AI in health care.