Cassidy Rips Trump's FDA Pick Over Role in Vaccine Order

Sen. Bill Cassidy, who withheld his support until the last minute for the confirmation of her potential boss, gave the nominee to run the Food and Drug Administration a hostile reception after President Trump's announcement on Wednesday. The outgoing Republican, a physician and chair of the Senate Health Committee, called Dr. Heidi Overton's involvement in the administration's new order reshaping childhood vaccine schedules "almost disqualifying," the Hill reports. In a social media post, Cassidy also questioned whether Overton has the management background to lead a sprawling agency already wrestling with staffing and morale problems.

A top White House health policy adviser, Overton stood with Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the FDA, when the executive order was signed Aug. 10 and backs Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" effort. Cassidy argued that her role in what he labeled a "nonsensical" vaccine move raises doubts about her commitment to "sound science" and children's health. Trump, announcing the planned nomination on Truth Social three months after former FDA chief Marty Makary resigned, praised Overton and said her leadership was needed to keep the US a "WORLD LEADER" in scientific breakthroughs. For her nomination to reach the Senate for a confirmation vote, Overton would need approval from Cassidy's Health Committee, the New York Times points out. That probably would require the vote of every Republican on it.