Heidi Overton
Heidi Overton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Overton in 2026 | |
| Commissioner of Food and Drugs | |
Nominee | |
| Assuming office | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Succeeding | Marty Makary |
| Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Theodore Wold |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37) |
| Education | |
Heidi Overton (born 1989) is an American physician who has served as the deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy since 2025.
Overton graduated from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011 and with a Doctor of Medicine in 2015. At the University of New Mexico, she served as its student regent in her final two graduate years. Overton performed her residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, at first specializing in surgery and then training in public health and general preventive medicine. In December 2019, Overton was named as a White House fellow. Following Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election, she joined the America First Policy Institute, where she helped to lead the institute's healthcare policy.
After Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, Overton was named as the deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. She was involved in executing Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again agenda, particularly as a mediator and policy strategist. In August 2026, Trump named Overton as his nominee to serve as the commissioner of food and drugs.
Early life and education (1989–2015)
[edit]Heidi Overton was born in 1989[1][2] in Cortez, Colorado.[1] Overton's father was a Christian minister, while her mother was an obstetrician and gynecologist at a Christian hospital in McKinley County. She lived in Durango, Colorado, and Carlsbad, New Mexico, before her family moved to Gallup, New Mexico, when she was eight.[1] Overton graduated from Gallup High School, where she was the co-valedictorian of her class.[3]
Overton began attending the University of New Mexico in 2007, when she enrolled in a program guaranteeing her admission to its medical school.[4] In May 2011, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts in health, medicine, and human values.[5] In January 2013, New Mexico governor Susana Martinez nominated Overton as the University of New Mexico's student regent;[6] she was confirmed by the New Mexico Senate in March.[5] As a student regent, she opposed a tuition increase[7] and an increase in deductibles.[8] Her two-year tenure officially ended in January 2015.[9] Overton graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in May 2015.[1]
Career
[edit]Johns Hopkins University (2015–2022)
[edit]After graduating from the University of New Mexico, Overton began residency training in surgery[10] at Johns Hopkins Hospital.[11] She worked on a study examining opioid guidelines with Marty Makary in 2018.[10] Overton became a physician board-certified in public health and general preventive medicine.[12] She holds a Maryland medical license.[13]
In 2022, Overton completed a doctoral degree in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.[14][15] Her thesis was entitled "The Development and Assessment of Appropriateness Measures for Postoperative Opioid Prescribing", and Makary served as research advisor.[15]
White House Fellow (2019–2021)
[edit]In December 2019, Overton was named as a White House fellow,[16] serving in the position while she sought her surgical residency at Johns Hopkins.[2] She worked in the Office of American Innovation and the Domestic Policy Council.[17] Overton was involved in the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
America First Policy Institute (2021–2025)
[edit]Following Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election, Overton joined the America First Policy Institute (AFPI).[2] As the director of AFPI's Center for a Healthy America,[18] she led AFPI's healthcare policy team alongside former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.[19]
Domestic Policy Council (2025–present)
[edit]After Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election,[2] Overton became the deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy.[20] According to The Atlantic, she helped hire Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s staff.[2] Overton participated in meetings with officials from the agriculture industry regarding the MAHA Commission.[21] Kennedy publicly praised Overton and another advisor, Calley Means, for their work in producing a report calling for additional reviews on chemicals in food and regulations on pharmaceutical advertisements in September 2025.[22] According to The Wall Street Journal, Overton opposed Trump's decision to initiate the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.[23]
According to The Atlantic, Overton was "one of the most powerful public-health officials" in Trump's second term. She was involved in several policies related to Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, including the establishment of The New Pyramid—particularly by mediating disagreements between Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Kennedy—and changes to childhood vaccine recommendations. Overton's work garnered several critics from within the movement, who accused her of intentionally limiting the reach of the movement; Kennedy, by contrast, had vocally defended Overton on several occasions.[2] After Susan Monarez was removed as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Overton was offered Monarez's position; she declined the offer.[24] In April 2026, the Journal reported that Overton and Means were involved in expediting an executive order fast-tracking reviews for psychedelic drugs.[25]
Overton helped lead the Trump administration's response to the 2026 Central Africa Ebola epidemic.[26][27]
Commissioner of Food and Drugs nomination
[edit]In June 2026, Bloomberg News reported that Overton was among several candidates being considered to succeed Marty Makary as the commissioner of food and drugs.[28][29] By August, she had been interviewed for the position alongside the physician Jeff Vacirca.[30] On August 19, Trump named Overton as his nominee to serve as the commissioner of food and drugs.[31] That month, Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, expressed concern about Overton's involvement in an executive order on childhood vaccinations.[32]
Views
[edit]Overton is an opponent of abortion.[20] She has supported the Make America Healthy Again movement, arguing that it must be "pro-business, pro-innovation, deregulatory, pro-patient-and-doctor, pro-farmer, and America-first."[33]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Bush, Mike (December 16, 2014). "Piling on the praise". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Scherer, Michael; Bartlett, Tom (July 24, 2026). "The White House's MAHA Gatekeeper". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ "University aims to boost doctor numbers in state". Las Cruces Sun-News. Associated Press. November 26, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Salazar, Martin (November 25, 2007). "UNM Program Helps Answer N.M. Doctor Shortage". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- 1 2 Simonich, Milan (March 5, 2013). "Senate confirms Las Cruces woman, and two others as UNM regents". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Gov. selects next NMSU, WNMU student regents". Las Cruces Sun-News. January 5, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Galvin, Astrid (April 10, 2013). "UNM tuition up by 13.2% for some". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Bush, Mike (April 9, 2014). "UNM approves big hike in deductibles". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Bush, Mike (November 14, 2014). "UNM Board of Regents to lose up to 4 members". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- 1 2 McDaniels, Andrea (August 15, 2018). "Hopkins creates opioid guidelines". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ "50 years of service". Albuquerque Journal. June 14, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Roubein, Rachel; Diamond, Dan (August 18, 2026). "Trump expected to pick White House aide to lead FDA". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Heidi Overton Profile". Docinfo. Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
- ↑ Whyte, Liz (August 18, 2026). "Trump Taps Dr. Heidi Overton to Lead FDA". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- 1 2 Overton, Heidi. "The Development and Assessment of Appropriateness Measures for Postoperative Opioid Prescribing". Jscholarship. Johns Hopkins. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Former UNM student regent named White House Fellow". Albuquerque Journal. December 3, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Gardner, Lauren; Lim, David (August 18, 2026). "Trump to select Heidi Overton for FDA commissioner". Politico. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Cueto, Isabella (March 18, 2025). "8 key players inside RFK Jr.'s HHS". Stat. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Owens, Caitlin (November 15, 2022). "Trump's health care advisers in waiting". Axios. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- 1 2 Jewett, Christina (August 18, 2026). "Trump to Nominate Heidi Overton, a Top Domestic Policy Aide, for F.D.A. Commissioner". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Newman, Jesse; Whyte, Liz; Dawsey, Josh (September 19, 2025). "How Farmers and Industry Groups Slowed MAHA's Roll". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Cueto, Isabella; Todd, Sarah (September 9, 2025). "Kennedy makes his formal pitch to fight chronic disease in new MAHA report". Stat. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Dawsey, Josh (December 27, 2025). "How Trump Became the Unlikely Champion of Easing Marijuana Restrictions". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Siddiqui, Sabrina; Calfas, Jennifer; Whyte, Liz (March 1, 2026). "Turmoil Takes Hold at CDC as Top Officials Keep Leaving". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ LeVine, Marianne; Whyte, Liz (April 18, 2026). "How Joe Rogan Convinced Trump to Fast-Track Review of Psychedelic Drugs". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Sutherland, Callum (May 19, 2026). "Trump 'Concerned' About Ebola Outbreak After American Tests Positive for Virus and Deaths Rise". Time. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
- ↑ McCue, Dan (May 19, 2026). "CDC Mobilizes Interagency Response to African Ebola Outbreak". The Well. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
- ↑ Cors Zhang, Rachel (June 23, 2026). "Trump Administration Eyes White House Aide for Top FDA Post". Bloomberg News. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Owens, Caitlin (June 26, 2026). "Three finalists emerge to lead FDA". Axios. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Cors Zhang, Rachel; Nix, Jessica; Woodhouse, Skylar (August 18, 2026). "Trump Is Interviewing Possible Nominees for FDA Commissioner". Bloomberg News. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Cors Zhang, Rachel (August 18, 2026). "Trump Taps White House Aide Overton to Run FDA After Tumult". Bloomberg News. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl (August 19, 2026). "Senate Health Panel Chairman Voices Strong Reservations About F.D.A. Nominee". The New York Times. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ Cueto, Isabella (August 25, 2025). "As MAHA turns 1, a fired-up movement is still figuring out how to fulfill its promises". Stat. Retrieved August 18, 2026.