October 19, 2026

Doctors for America Opposes the Nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton as FDA Commissioner

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As physicians, we judge medicines by the evidence. We ask the Senate to judge this nomination the same way.

Dr. Heidi Overton has never worked in any field critical to the core areas of focus of the FDA: she left her general surgery residency after two years, later became board-certified in preventive medicine, and earned a PhD studying post-surgical opioid prescribing. Since then, her career has been in policy rather than patient care or regulatory science. She was a White House fellow, worked at a think tank, and now serves on the Domestic Policy Council. Writing health policy is a different job from leading the FDA. A policy paper argues for a position, whereas a commissioner must set positions aside and follow the data. Dr. Overton has never worked in a regulatory agency, and she would inherit an FDA shaken by leadership turnover, the loss of experienced reviewers, and falling morale. Rebuilding that workforce requires a leader with proven experience and credibility who can protect scientists' independence from pharmaceutical companies seeking leverage and from ideology of any kind.

Her record on vaccines raises the same concern that ideology replaces adherence to accepted scientific analysis. Dr. Overton worked on and publicly praised the August executive order that shrinks the childhood immunization schedule and calls for splitting the MMR vaccine into separate shots. No single-component measles, mumps, or rubella vaccines are licensed in the United States, and no new evidence was offered to justify the change. The order came during the worst U.S. measles outbreak in decades. Under oath, she told the committee that the MMR vaccine is safe, effective, and our best tool against measles. We agree. But she would not say that the President was wrong to call it potentially lethal. A commissioner who cannot correct misinformation from the Oval Office will struggle to protect the agency's scientists when it matters most.

The pending "safety review" of mifepristone is the clearest test. More than 25 years of data, summarized in our recent letter, support the current prescribing parameters. Dr. Overton has previously criticized those parameters. At her hearing, she acknowledged that the drug has met FDA's standard for safety and efficacy. Before confirmation, senators should secure her public commitment that the mifepristone review will apply the same evidentiary standards FDA uses for every drug, with its methods and data open to scrutiny.

Gold-standard science is not a partisan value. Patients, physicians, and legitimate innovators all depend on an FDA whose decisions rest on scientific merit. We urge the Senate to consider the contradictions posed by the actions of Dr. Overton and her testimony. As physicians, we judge medicines by the evidence. We ask the Senate to judge this nomination the same way and oppose her nomination.

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About Doctors for America:

Doctors for America (DFA) is a national nonprofit that mobilizes over 40,000 physicians and medical trainees to advocate for policies that improve the health of patients and communities. Through advocacy training and action at the state and federal levels, DFA works to expand access to affordable care, strengthen community health and prevention, and advance health justice and equity. We do not accept funding from pharmaceutical, insurance, or for-profit health care entities, ensuring our work remains fiercely independent and patient-centered. DFA puts patients over politics–and over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on X @drsforamerica or Bluesky drsforamerica.bsky.social.

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