Trump's pick to lead FDA won't say the president was ever wrong
At a Senate hearing, Trump's nominee to head the FDA, Overton, refused to directly answer whether the president was wrong about a Tylenol-autism link and dodged questions about a tobacco company donation coinciding with a flavored vape policy change.
Dodging questions on Tylenol
At a Senate confirmation hearing for Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Overton, Sen. Maggie Hassan repeatedly pushed for a direct answer on whether the president was wrong to claim that Tylenol use during pregnancy is linked to autism in children. Asked point-blank whether Trump was wrong, Overton would not say yes or no, only stating there is no current evidence of a causal link between Tylenol and autism. Hassan said she was troubled that administration officials find it so difficult to plainly acknowledge the president's mistakes.
Vaccine-splitting questions
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester raised claims Trump made in August about vaccines, noting reports that Overton herself had suggested splitting a combination vaccine into multiple separate shots. Doing so would require major investment and years of trials before individual vaccines could be approved in the US. Overton would not confirm these were good options, saying only that her job is to provide the president with choices, and she also dodged questions about whether she had reviewed data on splitting the MMR vaccine or on current dose sizes.
The flavored vape controversy
The FDA has lacked a confirmed commissioner since May, when Marty Makary resigned after resisting pressure from Trump to approve flavored vapes. Sen. Chris Murphy laid out a timeline in which tobacco company Reynolds donated $8 million to the president, met with him for lunch two days later to request a rule change on flavored vapes, after which Trump called the FDA commissioner and the health secretary, and new guidance opening the door to their sale followed within days. Overton rejected the premise of a question linking the donation to the policy change, saying Trump is committed to the best outcomes for Americans.
