Trump nominates Heidi Overton to lead FDA

US President Donald Trump has nominated Heidi Overton, a policy adviser closely aligned with his administration, to become the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), putting a prominent supporter of his healthcare agenda forward to lead the agency responsible for regulating food, medicines and medical products.

Trump announced the nomination on Wednesday, describing Overton as a key figure in his administration and saying she had worked closely with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mehmet Oz and other officials on what he called a major transformation of US healthcare policy.

Trump said Overton had taken on some of the administration's most difficult healthcare issues and delivered policy solutions that he believed served US interests.

The nomination comes after the FDA was left without a permanent commissioner following the resignation of Dr Marty Makary in May. Overton will require confirmation by the US Senate before she can formally take charge of the agency.

Her nomination comes at a time of significant upheaval across US public health institutions. The Trump administration has moved to reshape federal health policy, prompting resistance from some medical experts and agency employees who have raised concerns about changes to established scientific and public health policies.

Vaccination policy has been among the most contentious issues, with the administration and its allies pushing changes that have challenged long-standing recommendations.

According to Overton's LinkedIn profile, she studied medicine at the University of New Mexico and earned a doctorate in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the Trump administration, she served as chief policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank that has promoted many of Trump's policy priorities.

Overton has emerged as a trusted figure within Trump's White House during his second term. She has also been critical of abortion pills, an issue that has become a major focus for groups seeking tighter restrictions on access to medication abortion.

She has appeared alongside Trump as he promoted his efforts to negotiate so-called "most favoured nation" pricing arrangements with pharmaceutical companies, aimed at reducing the cost of prescription medicines in the United States.

Trump said Overton would play an important role in advancing those efforts, as well as other elements of his administration's healthcare agenda.

If confirmed, she would take charge of an FDA facing major policy challenges, including drug pricing, vaccine regulation, pharmaceutical approvals and disputes over the role of scientific evidence in federal health policy.