Dr. Heidi Overton has been selected as the nominee to serve as the next commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the agency that, amongst other things, serves as the federal government’s tobacco regulator.
Currently, Overton serves as the deputy assistant for domestic policy, serving as a go-between for the White House and the various federal agencies affected by health policy. During the first Trump administration, she served as a White House fellow and worked for the America First Policy Institute in between Trump’s two terms.
Little is known about Overton’s thoughts on tobacco regulation, let alone cigars. However, her work at the America First Policy Institute suggests someone who is aligned with the Trump world on a variety of key policy initiatives: she is vehemently against abortion and was credited for working on the new food pyramid introduced by the Trump administration. However, a recent profile in The Atlantic mentioned that some members of the MAHA movement have accused Overton of slowing down some of Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policy goals and opposing things like softening rules for marijuana and psychedelics. Kennedy Jr. serves as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, a position above the FDA commissioner.
Since the resignation of Dr. Martin Makary in May, Overton has been viewed as one of the most likely candidates to get the nomination for the FDA head. That same profile from The Atlantic said Overton was one of three finalists, the other two being Jeff Vacirca, the head of a New York cancer practice, and Stephen Ferrara, a Navy doctor who currently works in the Pentagon.
Overton earned an M.D. from the University of New Mexico and a Ph.D. in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. While at Johns Hopkins as a resident, she worked with Makary—a longtime professor—on recommended opioid guidelines for specific surgical procedures.
Makary, a decorated surgeon who gained prominence in right-wing circles during the COVID-19 pandemic for his willingness to attach his esteemed resumé to vaccine mandate criticism, was pushed out of the job earlier this year, in large part due to vaping regulation.
While some in the Trump administration were pushing for loosened vaping rules, Makary had been hesitant to allow for the FDA approval of flavored vapes. For years, the FDA has been slow to approve vapes; as of March, the agency’s track record was to approve just a handful of vaping products per year, and at that point, all of the approved ones had ties to Big Tobacco.
Because of the relatively few FDA authorizations and the agency’s approach to enforcement, if you walk into a vape store, you are likely to see substantially more unapproved products for sale than authorized ones. This, along with aggressive lobbying, led to yet another shift in Trump’s handling of vapes.
As the lobbying increased, Makary’s days as the FDA chief were numbered. By early May, there were reports that Trump had signed off on a plan to fire Makary; days later, a resignation was announced.
Currently, the FDA has two different policies regarding cigar regulation. Due to a successful lawsuit from the cigar industry, products that are handmade and are not flavored are considered “premium cigars” and are not currently subject to FDA regulation. Products that do not meet the definition are regulated, meaning they are subject to product approval and required to pay user fees. At any time, the FDA could restart the process to introduce regulations to “premium cigars.”
Overton will need approval by the U.S. Senate to be confirmed as the commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
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