President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration is already facing a GOP revolt over her recent history.
According to a Wednesday article by The New York Times, Heidi Overton’s support for Trump’s order concerning vaccines and the production of the weedkiller glyphosate has drawn early backlash. Trump tapped Overton, a White House domestic policy official, on Wednesday as the replacement for Marty Makary, who resigned in May.
“The White House looks forward to her swift confirmation by the Senate,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Times, adding that Overton has “spent the last year and a half coordinating an interagency policymaking process with senior officials” to deliver on the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
However, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chairman of the Senate health committee, said that Overton’s support for Trump’s “nonsensical vaccine executive order” issued last week creates “strong concerns.”
The executive order in question calls for fewer childhood vaccinations and has drawn broad criticism from public health experts. Earlier this week, Cassidy called the order a “crazy, stupid thing,” and on social media, he said that Overton’s support for it “alone is almost disqualifying.”
The Times noted that Overton will likely need the support of every Republican on the Senate health committee to advance her nomination to the full Senate.
Overton is also facing strong opposition from MAHA leaders, who are upset with her backing of Trump’s executive order expanding glyphosate, which is made by Bayer and that some scientists have linked to cancer. Kelly Ryerson, an environmental activist who accused the Trump administration of being “entirely owned by Bayer and the chemical companies,” told The Times that Overton echoes Bayer’s talking points.
“When I was at the White House MAHA meeting, Overton delivered all of Bayer’s talking points,” Ryerson said. “She is how corporate capture will thrive at the FDA and is an enemy of MAHA, perpetuating chemical poisoning of the American people.”
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