America First Nomination: Dr. Heidi Overton

Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Heidi Overton, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician, healthcare policy leader, and New Mexico native currently serving as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy at the White House. As a senior healthcare advisor to the President, Dr. Overton oversees healthcare and public policy priorities, working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services as well as senior White House leadership to advance the President’s agenda. She has a proven track record of putting patients first, fighting to Make Americans Healthy Again, and bringing radical transparency to America’s healthcare system.

Dr. Overton brings a rare combination of clinical medicine, scientific research, federal and state healthcare policy, and executive leadership to the position. She is board-certified in General Public Health and Preventive Medicine and earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She previously completed a surgical oncology research fellowship at Johns Hopkins and trained as a general surgery resident, caring directly for patients and performing 300 surgical cases.

Before returning to the White House, Dr. Overton served as the Chief Policy Officer at the America First Policy Institute, as well as the Vice Chair for the Center for a Healthy America. During the first Trump Administration, she served as a White House Fellow in the Office of American Innovation and the Domestic Policy Council, advising senior Administration officials on healthcare policy and working with HHS and CMS to develop and execute major healthcare initiatives.

Dr. Overton’s record demonstrates a commitment to faster cures, lower prescription drug costs, greater transparency in healthcare, safer food, and putting patients at the center of America’s healthcare system making her an exemplary candidate for the Commissioner of the FDA.

America First Credentials: What Does Heidi Overton Stand For?

Supports

Gold-Standard Science and Radical Transparency Dr. Overton believes rigorous evidence, transparent data and honest communication with the American people should drive federal health policy. She has worked to restore trust in federal health institutions by ensuring patients and families have access to the information needed to make informed decisions. Her background as a physician and clinical researcher gives her the experience to evaluate medical evidence translating science into better patient outcomes.

Safe Food for American Families. With the support of Dr. Overton, HHS and the FDA have taken comprehensive action to remove certain harmful food dyes from the food supply, modernize the GRAS pathway, reform the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, define ultra-processed foods, and protect the nation’s infant formula supply from adulteration.

Faster Cures and Fighting China. As the President’s advisor on healthcare, Dr. Overton helped shape the reforms at the FDA that will bring faster cures to market while making America competitive against China. The Trump Administration’s work on Operation Trailblazer, the Commissioner’s National Priority Review Voucher pilot program, and the plausible mechanism pathway will all ensure that America continues to lead the world in ending disease.

Informed Consent & Parental Rights. Dr. Overton stood next to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy as they fought for parents to get the most up-to-date information on vaccines with greater informed consent. Dr. Overton was critical in the President’s Executive Order to Deliver Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations, as well as the work that the Trump Administration has done to modernize the childhood vaccine schedule.

Making American Children Healthy Again. Dr. Overton directed the work of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, ensuring that America’s children no longer suffer from high rates of chronic disease. Dr. Overton led the work to develop the MAHA Report and Strategy, coordinating across the Departments for an all-of-government approach to protect America’s children.

Lowering Prescription Drug Prices. President Trump has lowered the price of prescription drugs at a rate not seen since 1963. As the President’s healthcare advisor, Dr. Overton has worked with Secretary Kennedy to secure historic deals with pharmaceutical companies to fulfill the President’s promise.

Opposes

Chemical and Surgical Mutilation of Children. Dr. Overton has worked tirelessly to end the mutilation of America’s children, supporting the President’s work to reverse woke gender ideology that has harmed a generation of America’s children. Recent reports have shown that gender transition surgeries are unfounded in science and have enabled predatory behavior by certain physicians.

COVID-19 Mandates. Dr. Overton has continually opposed the draconian, Fauci-era COVID mandates, including school closures, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates. Dr. Overton will bring back gold-standard science and transparency to our public health agencies, reversing course from Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Corporate Capture Over Health Agencies. The Trump Administration has declared a new era of radical transparency in healthcare, restoring America’s trust in our public health agencies. Dr. Overton has opposed corporate capture of our health agencies, arguing that special interests, well connected firms, and big government has been prioritized over improving health outcomes for Americans.

China Dominating American Generic Drug Manufacturing. President Trump has called upon American drug manufacturers to end our dependence on China for the key starting materials (KSMs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in our generic drug supply chain. Dr. Overton has supported this work and the efforts to better police Chinese-controlled manufacturing facilities. Dr. Overton has also warned about the preponderance of Chinese-manufactured fentanyl, which is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Bureaucracy & Outdated Science. Patients and doctors should have the final say on their healthcare decisions, not Washington bureaucrats. Dr. Overton has worked alongside HHS and FDA to eliminate outdated science that has unnecessarily delayed treatments for women, like, removing the black box warning on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that discouraged millions of women from accessing menopause treatment.

America First Achievements

Dr. Overton has overseen significant America First Accomplishments in her role at the White House Domestic Policy Council, along with her time at AFPI and at Johns Hopkins, including:

Advancing Gold Standard Science Recommendations

• Dr. Overton worked to restore public trust in science that was damaged during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating transparency through reviewable clinical evidence instead of outdated bureaucracy.

Taking Down the Root Cause of Chronic Disease

• She coordinated the redesign of the federal food pyramid, delivering the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, targeting the ultra-processed foods and added sugars widely linked to America's chronic disease crisis, replacing decades-old recommendations tied to rising rates of obesity and diabetes.

Supporting Price Transparency

• Dr. Overton advocated for patients to get clear, transparent prices for their health care services. Dr. Overton has testified in the states on the importance of President Trump’s price transparency reforms.

Promoting a Families-First Policy Agenda

• As part of her work on the Domestic Policy Council, Dr. Overton led the creation of the infertility excepted benefits, ensuring that families across the United States could get low-cost infertility treatments.