This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire
By Bobby Jindal , Newt Gingrich
President Donald Trump has made the Food and Drug Administration a centerpiece of his agenda.
The agency is at the heart of key policy initiatives: lower costs for Americans, bring back American manufacturing, and make America healthy again.
That is why it’s been great to see President Trump choose such a qualified, well-suited candidate as Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the agency.
We’ve gotten to know Dr. Overton professionally and personally for several years now and can attest that she’s the right leader at the right time for the FDA.
Dr. Overton has been at the White House helping lead the president’s health initiatives from her perch as a deputy on the Domestic Policy Council. She has been involved in countless key decisions and understands how to navigate the often convoluted ways of the federal government.
Her nomination comes at a key time for the FDA as it undertakes key initiatives. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently laid out the high stakes facing our policymakers. The U.S. is losing ground in its role as a leader in clinical research and medical innovation. A recent study found that China now conducts more early-stage clinical trials than the United States. In 2025, Chinese companies accounted for nearly half of global pharmaceutical licensing deal activity. Those trends should concern every American.
This is why the Trump administration launched Operation Trailblazer, an effort to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burden and shorten the time from drug identification to first-in-human study.
Meanwhile, Americans continue to suffer the hangover of Joe Biden’s inflation crisis, with healthcare costs a large driver behind cost-of-living concerns. The FDA is working to alleviate these prices by increasing the number of over-the-counter drugs as well as the availability of biosimilar generics.
One estimate projected biosimilar competition would deliver $180 billion in savings for Americans from 2023 through 2027.
We want to make America healthy again. The FDA has been at the forefront of this MAHA agenda. It has taken steps to get artificial dyes out of food, conducted a review focused on whether there are chemical contaminants in infant formula, and is addressing the health risks of ultra-processed foods.
The Senate should confirm Dr. Overton swiftly, as permanent leadership at the FDA is necessary to secure lasting change in the system.
Her background makes her the ideal person to tackle these key matters facing the nation.
After earning her medical degree from the University of New Mexico, Overton did two years of surgical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, working in inner-city Baltimore to treat both some of the most complex patients in the world and the needs of a local community disproportionately burdened by chronic disease and trauma.
While there, Dr. Overton took advantage of the world-class training in public health and left Hopkins with a Ph.D. in Clinical Investigation, helping write landmark papers on the over-prescribing patterns that contributed to the opioid crisis and publishing new prescribing guidelines for surgeons.
Dr. Overton is the right person for the job. Under her leadership, we expect to see an FDA that plays a central role in reasserting America’s status as the global leader in drug development. We will see a reform agenda to bring about faster approvals for medicines and ensure our food meets the standard of the world’s wealthiest nation.
Dr. Overton’s record of service and achievement is exactly what we need at the FDA during this critical time for the nation. We wholeheartedly endorse her nomination to the FDA.
This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
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