Senate panel sets hearing for Trump's FDA pick By Reuters

A Senate health panel set a confirmation hearing for next week for Dr. Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration. The hearing is scheduled for September 24 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Overton, a White House policy aide nominated in August, would take charge of an FDA that has lost more than 3,000 staff over the past year, including division heads, and faces pressure to rebuild confidence with industry and public-health groups amid concerns it has become too political. Her nomination follows resignations and disputes tied to flavored vapes, a stalled abortion-pill safety study, and disagreements with companies over reviews. Overton, a preventive medicine physician and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, previously worked at the America First Policy Institute. Her nomination also coincides with new efforts on vaccines and the abortion pill.