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Health Care · Report · File No. 261111-947

Senate health panel sets Nov. 18 vote on Trump's FDA nominee Heidi Overton

The committee will vote on Dr. Heidi Overton a week from today, and its chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, says he is undecided. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has had no confirmed leader since its last commissioner resigned in May.

By the Kitchen-Table Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Bill Cassidy
Bill Cassidy. Photo: United States Congress, Public domain

The Senate health committee has scheduled a vote for Nov. 18 on Dr. Heidi Overton, President Trump's choice to run the FDA, according to a committee release reported by STAT News 1. The FDA reviews prescription drugs, vaccines and food safety. If the committee approves her, the nomination goes to the full Senate 1.

Committee chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, is "undecided," according to a post he made on X, STAT reported. He set the vote anyway 1.

A narrow path

Overton needs a majority of the 21-member committee 23. STAT reports that one Republican voting no could sink her nomination if all Democrats oppose her. It also says key Republicans have not yet backed her 1.

The Associated Press (AP) reported in September that Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were seen as key swing votes. Overton's views on abortion were part of the reason 3.

Republicans are trying to confirm nominees before Democrats take control of the Senate in January 1. The committee will also vote that day on the nominee for National Science Foundation director and three other nominations 1.

What she said at her hearing

Overton, a White House health adviser, testified on Sept. 24. She said "every vaccine that is on the market has been determined to be safe and effective," including the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot 2. She did not explicitly say Trump was wrong when he called the MMR vaccine "quite lethal" 2.

Cassidy told the hearing that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "gave me guarantees, and he did not keep them." He asked what Overton would do if the president told her to act against vaccine standards 2. She answered that she would "follow the statutory requirements" and give Trump her best advice 2.

Bill Cassidy
gave me guarantees, and he did not keep them
Bill Cassidy, Chairman, Senate health committee, R-La.2

On the abortion pill mifepristone, Overton said it "has met the safety and efficacy determinations of the FDA." She declined to prejudge the agency's ongoing safety review. Before joining the administration, she had called the mail-delivery policy "dangerous to women" 2.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, said the agency needs someone who follows science 23.

Patty Murray
The FDA has said this is safe
Patty Murray, Senator, D-Wash.2

Why it matters

The FDA has been without a confirmed commissioner since Dr. Marty Makary resigned in May. It has also lost about 20% of its staff since Trump took office 23. Critics note Overton has never run a large bureaucracy 2.

That matters because the agency decides which drugs and vaccines reach pharmacies, and it is the same agency Cassidy says he was promised would hold the line on vaccines. The committee's vote on Nov. 18 will show whether any Republicans share his doubts.

The Record

  1. Dr. Marty Makary, the previous FDA commissioner, resigned in May 23.
  2. Overton testified before the Senate health committee, saying every vaccine on the market has been found safe and effective 2.
  3. The committee scheduled a Nov. 18 vote; Chairman Cassidy said he was undecided 1.
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Sources

  1. STAT News, “Senate health committee schedules vote on FDA commissioner nominee Overton” (2026-11-11). statnews.com/2026/11/11/fda-commissioner-nominee-heidi-overt
  2. AP via Boston Globe, “FDA nominee voices support for vaccines at Senate hearing scrutinizing Trump administration efforts” (2026-09-24). bostonglobe.com/2026/09/24/business/fda-nominee-voices-suppo
  3. AP via NBC Washington, “FDA nominee says vaccines are safe at Senate hearing” (2026-09-24). nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/fda-nominee-va

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.

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