Politicizing science: Trump’s pick to head the FDA—Heidi Overton— promotes an ‘alternative system’ of ‘conservative-based science’

Scientic American | September 1, 2026

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President Trump’s nominee to run the Food and Drug Administration once called for conservatives to build their own scientific journals and steer research funding toward right-wing policy goals, as Scientific American’s Adam Kovac reports.

In a December 2023 podcast appearance on The Tank, a show produced by the America First Policy Institute, Heidi Overton—then the think tank’s chief policy officer, now a White House aide—laid out a 20-year vision for “alternative systems” of publishing science. “We need publications and academic journals that are conservative-based,” she said. “We need research funding willing to fund these kinds of studies. That’s not happening at the NIH.”

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A track record on vaccines

Overton, who holds a medical degree, stood at Trump’s side when he signed an executive order pushing to split the combined MMR vaccine into three shots, despite strong evidence it’s safe. She’s seen as a key ally of RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.

“Knowledge isn’t inherently neutral,” said Stand Up for Science founder Colette Delawalla, whose group resurfaced the clip after Overton’s nomination, “this is why we must protect independent centers of thought.”