Headless FDA Gets a New Nominee

President Donald Trump is nominating Heidi Overton, a physician who is currently a White House policy adviser, to lead the FDA, which has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since May. Overton has a controversial history and may face some obstacles to winning confirmation, though Republicans have been reluctant to push back too strongly against most of the president’s picks. 

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, who has already reshaped the generic drug market and now has his eye on the rest of the healthcare system.  

Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.

Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: Mother Jones’ “The Orwellian Company Behind ICE’s New Electric Shock Gloves,” by Sophie Hurwitz.  

Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “Tik Tok’s Fake GLP-1 Market Preys on Women Trying To Lose Weight,” by Barbara Rodriguez.  

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Texas Observer’s “Texas Maternal Mortality Committee’s Next Report Will Skip Post-‘Roe’ Deaths. Lawmakers Suspect Political Influence,” by Mary Tuma.  

Joanne Kenen: Politico’s “AI Slop Is Swamping a House Office That Drafts US Laws,” by Owen Dahlkamp.