Trump's FDA Pick Tells Senators Vaccines Are Safe but Won't Say She'd Defy Him

President Donald Trump's pick to run the Food and Drug Administration told senators Thursday that every vaccine on the U.S. market is safe and effective. But she would not say whether she would push back if the president tried to overrule the agency's scientists.

Dr. Heidi Overton, who has served as a deputy assistant to Trump in his second term, appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for her confirmation hearing. Trump nominated her in August and called her a "ROCKSTAR in my Administration." If confirmed, she would replace Marty Makary, who resigned after public fights with lawmakers, drug companies and Trump over fruit-flavored vapes. Kyle Diamantas has been acting commissioner since May.

Committee chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician who has long defended vaccines, opened by raising concerns about Overton's part in Trump's signing of an executive order that overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule. Cassidy said the order was based on "zero" scientific evidence and warned that people can die if they aren't vaccinated. He asked Overton whether the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is lethal. She said it is not, and that it is safe and effective. "Are there any vaccines on the U.S. market right now which are unsafe?" Cassidy asked. "Senator, every vaccine on the U.S. market right now are safe and effective, according to the FDA," Overton said. She also called the vaccine the best tool against the country's rising number of measles cases.

When Cassidy and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the committee's top Democrat, pressed her on whether she would stand up to the president on policy, Overton deflected and said she would follow the law.

The sharpest exchanges came over abortion. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who has called Overton an "anti-abortion extremist," asked whether the abortion pill mifepristone is safe and effective. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered an FDA safety review of the drug last year. "I know that it has met the safety and efficacy standard according to the FDA review," Overton said. Murray pointed to a 2023 article Overton published that Murray said wrongly described medication abortion as dangerous, and when Overton tried to explain how the agency's reviews work, Murray told her, "I hear you changing your answer." NBC News reported that when asked about the drug's label, Overton said she "can't prejudge the determination of a safety review that is currently ongoing." She also did not directly answer when Murray asked whether an IUD causes abortions. "If I'm confirmed as FDA commissioner, I'll be fully briefed on all their prior decisions and make determinations according to the standards of safety and efficacy," she said.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked about Trump's repeated claim that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism. "Senator, I have not seen any causal evidence that Tylenol causes autism," Overton said, adding that the label advises pregnant women to talk to their doctor. The largest studies, covering nearly 3 million children, have found no direct cause-and-effect link, and major medical groups still recommend acetaminophen as the safest painkiller during pregnancy.

The biotech industry was watching for hints about how Overton would run an agency that approves the country's drugs, vaccines and medical devices. The hearing left senators with a nominee who backed the FDA's past scientific findings in plain terms but would not commit to defending them against the White House.