Heidi Overton

Heidi Overton (born 1989) is an American physician who has served as the deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy since 2025.

Overton graduated from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011 and with a Doctor of Medicine in 2015. At the University of New Mexico, she served as its student regent in her final two graduate years. Overton performed her residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, at first specializing in surgery and then training in public health and general preventive medicine. In December 2019, Overton was named as a White House fellow. Following Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election, she joined the America First Policy Institute, where she helped to lead the institute's healthcare policy.

After Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, Overton was named as the deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. She was involved in executing Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again agenda, particularly as a mediator and policy strategist. In August 2026, Trump named Overton as his nominee to serve as the commissioner of food and drugs.

Early life and education (1989–2015) Heidi Overton was born in 1989 in Cortez, Colorado.

Overton began attending the University of New Mexico in 2007, when she enrolled in a program guaranteeing her admission to its medical school. In May 2011, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts in health, medicine, and human values. In January 2013, New Mexico governor Susana Martinez nominated Overton as the University of New Mexico's student regent; she was confirmed by the New Mexico Senate in March. and an increase in deductibles. Her two-year tenure officially ended in January 2015. Overton graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in May 2015. She worked on a study examining opioid guidelines with Marty Makary in 2018. Overton became a physician board-certified in public health and general preventive medicine. She holds a Maryland medical license.

In 2022, Overton completed a doctoral degree in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

White House Fellow (2019–2021) In December 2019, Overton was named as a White House fellow, serving in the position while she sought her surgical residency at Johns Hopkins. Overton was involved in the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. she led AFPI's healthcare policy team alongside former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.

Domestic Policy Council (2025–present) After Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, According to The Atlantic, she helped hire Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s staff. Kennedy publicly praised Overton and another advisor, Calley Means, for their work in producing a report calling for additional reviews on chemicals in food and regulations on pharmaceutical advertisements in September 2025. According to The Wall Street Journal, Overton opposed Trump's decision to initiate the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

According to The Atlantic, Overton was "one of the most powerful public-health officials" in Trump's second term. She was involved in several policies related to Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, including the establishment of The New Pyramid—particularly by mediating disagreements between Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Kennedy—and changes to childhood vaccine recommendations. Overton's work garnered several critics from within the movement, who accused her of intentionally limiting the reach of the movement; Kennedy, by contrast, had vocally defended Overton on several occasions. In April 2026, the Journal reported that Overton and Means were involved in expediting an executive order fast-tracking reviews for psychedelic drugs.

Overton helped lead the Trump administration's response to the 2026 Central Africa Ebola epidemic.

Commissioner of Food and Drugs nomination In June 2026, Bloomberg News reported that Overton was among several candidates being considered to succeed Marty Makary as the commissioner of food and drugs. By August, she had been interviewed for the position alongside the physician Jeff Vacirca. On August 19, Trump named Overton as his nominee to serve as the commissioner of food and drugs. That month, Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, expressed concern about Overton's involvement in an executive order on childhood vaccinations.

Views Overton is an opponent of abortion.