Heidi Overton told senators the MMR vaccine is safe and effective, contradicting Donald Trump’s recent warning about the jab as she faces scrutiny over her independence.
Dr Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Food and Drug Administration, told senators at her confirmation hearing that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is “safe and effective”, sharply distancing herself from the president’s recent suggestion that the shot could be “quite lethal”. She said the MMR vaccine is “our best tool right now in the public health response to the measles outbreak”, as the United States records its highest number of measles cases since 1991. Reuters and other outlets reported that her remarks came at a politically charged hearing in which senators pressed her on whether she would hold the line on vaccine science if confirmed.
When asked directly whether any vaccine currently sold in the US was unsafe, Overton replied that every vaccine on the market is “safe and effective, according to the FDA”. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says the MMR vaccine is a key tool for preventing measles, mumps and rubella, and that its benefits outweigh the risks, while the FDA says it is responsible for reviewing vaccines for safety, efficacy, purity and potency.
The exchange highlighted the scrutiny facing Overton from Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican physician who chairs the Senate health committee and whose vote is considered pivotal. Cassidy has previously described her role in Trump’s August vaccine executive order as “almost disqualifying”. Asked what she would do if Trump pressed her to break her assurances on vaccine safety, Overton said she would give him her best advice and follow the legal requirements of the commissioner’s post. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, asked whether she would have the courage to resist a president he said “lies all of the time”, but she did not answer that question directly.
Overton used her opening statement to argue that the FDA should move faster in order to strengthen US leadership in biotechnology. She said the agency needed to become “the agency of the possible, rather than the impossible”. If confirmed, she would be the youngest person ever to serve as FDA commissioner. A surgeon by training, she is now deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy and previously served as a White House fellow during Trump’s first term.
Her hearing also touched on other areas of public health policy. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican, challenged Overton over the FDA’s August authorisation of flavoured vapes and nicotine pouches, including blueberry, mango and cappuccino varieties. Collins said nearly 90% of young e-cigarette users choose flavoured products. Overton replied that the administration was united in wanting to protect children, but defended the decision as one made on the advice of career staff because many adults prefer flavoured products. She added that if the legal standard was wrong, Congress should change the statute.
The nomination comes at a sensitive moment for the agency. Overton would succeed Marty Makary, who resigned in May, and take charge after 2025 layoffs that cut the FDA workforce by nearly a fifth, according to reporting cited by the Guardian. Her record has also drawn attention beyond vaccines: in a 2023 policy brief for the conservative America First Policy Institute, where she was chief policy officer, she criticised federal rules allowing abortion pills to be sent by post and argued that abortion is “corrosive to children, women, and society broadly”.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
