Overview
- Dr. Heidi Overton appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, and declined to give personal, definitive views on mifepristone, IUDs and other contested items while saying she would follow FDA standards if confirmed.
- Overton explicitly affirmed that FDA-approved vaccines are safe and effective and named the MMR vaccine, but she refused to say directly that President Trump was wrong to question MMR safety or to commit to rejecting political pressure on product decisions.
- Senate chair Sen. Bill Cassidy and other senators pressed her about her role in the White House vaccine executive order and said her participation in efforts to split childhood vaccine schedules raised serious concerns about her scientific judgment.
- The hearing highlighted ongoing agency matters she would inherit, including an active FDA safety review of mifepristone, recent approvals of flavored e-cigarettes, and the agency’s strained capacity after leadership turnover and staffing losses.
- Critics pointed to Overton’s work at the America First Policy Institute and a corrected White House health report as reasons to question her readiness to run the 16,000-person FDA, and committee support remains uncertain before a pending committee vote and full Senate consideration.