Marty Makary's time leading the FDA and Heidi Overton's nomination to succeed him

Active · last development Sep 24, 2026: “FDA nominee Overton says all US vaccines safe as senators press on shots, abortion, vaping”

What this arc covers

Who leads the Food and Drug Administration under Trump: his November 2024 nomination of Marty Makary, a critic of some COVID-19 measures, the Senate's confirmation of Makary in March 2025, the May 2026 reports that Trump might fire him and his resignation days later, Trump's pick of the White House aide Heidi Overton to replace him in August 2026, and her Senate confirmation hearing, where she said all US vaccines were safe as senators pressed her on shots, abortion and vaping.

Photo from Hawaiitribune Herald, with FDA nominee Overton says all US vaccines safe as senators press on shots, abortion, vaping (Sep 24, 2026), the story with the most independent sources this week.

Earliest story we hold Nov 23, 2024 · 7 stories · 67 independent sources (counted once each) · 670 days

Part ofUnited States Food and Drug AdministrationDonald TrumpMarty MakaryHeidi OvertonUnited States SenateMyanmarUnited States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Part of Trump's cabinet nominations

  1. Matt Gaetz's withdrawn nomination for attorney general and the House Ethics reportNov 13, 2024 – Apr 2, 2025
  2. Pete Hegseth's confirmation as defense secretaryNov 13, 2024 – Jan 24, 2025
  3. RFK Jr.'s confirmation as health secretaryNov 14, 2024 – Feb 12, 2025
  4. Marty Makary's time leading the FDA and Heidi Overton's nomination to succeed himThis arcNov 23, 2024 – Sep 24, 2026
  5. Kash Patel at the FBI, from his nomination to the fights over his tenureDec 1, 2024 – Sep 15, 2026
  6. Todd Blanche's nomination as attorney generalApr 2 – Aug 8, 2026

Where it standsnewest first · each bar runs left to right by leaning

Sep 24– 252026FDA nominee Overton says all US vaccines safe as senators press on shots, abortion, vaping13 articles · 8 independent sources
2 left, 1 center, 0 right
Sep 22– 252026Trump’s nominee to lead FDA expected to face questions on vaccines, abortion in Senate hearing48 articles · 34 independent sources
8 left, 13 center, 2 right
Aug 19– 202026Trump nominates new FDA head69 articles · 49 independent sources
13 left, 17 center, 4 right

Who covered it, over timeindependent sources per week, by side

Nov 2024Mar 2025Aug 2025Dec 2025May 2026Sep 2026

LeftCenterRight

Point at or tap a week to see its count by side.

Every week as a table
Week ofLeftCenterRightArticles
Nov 18, 202413315
Mar 24, 20250101
May 4, 20263138
May 11, 2026711763
Aug 17, 20261317467
Sep 21, 20261014260

Stories before June 28, 2026 come from archived pages, so who covered them is limited to the outlets we recovered for that period.

37% left · 49% center · 14% right of 67 independent sources among the outlets we track, across 7 stories.

Every storyoldest first

  1. November 2024

    Nov 23Trump nominates Marty Makary, a critic of some COVID-19 health measures, to lead the FDA15 articles · 9 independent sources
    1 left, 3 center, 3 right

  2. March 2025

    Mar 26Senate confirms Makary for FDA commissioner1 articles · 1 independent sources
    0 left, 2 center, 0 right

  3. May 2026

    May 8– 9Trump may fire FDA chief Marty Makary, reports say8 articles · 8 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 3 right
  4. May 12– 13Trump's FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, to resign63 articles · 40 independent sources
    7 left, 11 center, 7 right

  5. August 2026

    Aug 19– 20Trump nominates new FDA head69 articles · 49 independent sources
    13 left, 17 center, 4 right

  6. September 2026

    Sep 22– 25Trump’s nominee to lead FDA expected to face questions on vaccines, abortion in Senate hearing48 articles · 34 independent sources
    8 left, 13 center, 2 right
  7. Sep 24– 25FDA nominee Overton says all US vaccines safe as senators press on shots, abortion, vaping13 articles · 8 independent sources
    2 left, 1 center, 0 right