U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, a physician and senior White House domestic policy adviser, to serve as the next Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Trump announced the nomination on August 19, stating that Overton would work alongside U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, to advance the administration’s health policy priorities.
Among the areas Trump specifically highlighted were faster development of cures, increased U.S. medical innovation, major clinical trial reforms, and lower drug prices.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Overton would assume leadership of one of the world’s most influential health regulatory agencies, with responsibility for the oversight of medicines, biologics, vaccines, medical devices, tobacco products, and much of the U.S. food supply.
For the oncology community, FDA leadership is particularly significant because the agency plays a central role in the evaluation and approval of new cancer therapies, biologics, diagnostic technologies, and clinical trial approaches.
Who Is Heidi Overton?
Overton currently serves as Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and has been involved in several of the Trump administration’s health policy initiatives.
She previously served as a White House Fellow from 2019 to 2020, working in the Office of American Innovation and the Domestic Policy Council. Before returning to the White House, she was Chief Policy Officer and Vice Chair of the Center for a Healthy America at the America First Policy Institute.
Overton received her medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and earned a PhD in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is board-certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine and previously trained as a general surgery resident at Johns Hopkins.
Announcing the nomination, Trump said:
“We need her leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES.”
Leadership Change at the FDA
Overton has been nominated following the departure of former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, who resigned in May 2026. The agency is currently being led by Kyle Diamantas, JD, who is serving as Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
Overton’s appointment is not yet final. Her nomination requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate before she can formally assume the role of FDA Commissioner.
If confirmed, her leadership could have implications across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, including regulatory approaches to drug development, clinical trials, innovation, and access to new therapies.
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