Sen. Susan Collins on Thursday steered clear of the types of controversial issues such as medication abortion and vaccine skepticism that her colleagues focused on during a confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration.
Instead, Collins, who is facing a tough reelection battle, asked Heidi Overton about increasing access to promising drugs used to treat rare diseases and raised concerns about the FDA’s recent decision to expand access to flavored tobacco pouches and vapes, citing the risks to children.
“I think this was a terrible decision by the FDA,” Collins said, noting the high rates at which young people use flavored vape products. “I agree with the former commissioner that it should not have occurred.”
Trump tapped Overton to replace Martin Makary, who resigned amid a series of controversies in May.
Overton has drawn criticism from public health officials who worry that she will bend to political pressure, rather that basing her decisions on evidence and science. That’s because Overton is currently a White House policy adviser at a time the administration is questioning the safety of certain drugs and vaccines. The nominee has also been a vocal opponent of medication abortion, and celebrated the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has fueled criticism from the left.
The Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee did not vote on her nomination Thursday. But when it does, Collins, who sits on the panel, may face blowback in her closely watched U.S. Senate race against Democrat Troy Jackson, in which abortion access and standing up to Trump have been major issues.
If confirmed, Overton would oversee the evaluation and regulations of prescription drugs, vaccines and food safety.
Collins is still considering how she will vote on the nomination, said her spokesperson, Phoebe Keller.
When asked about Collins’ line of questioning, Keller said in an interview that the senator didn’t bring up other issues such as vaccinations or abortion because those topics were expected to be covered extensively by other committee members. She focused on youth vaping and treatments for rare diseases because those issues are important to her, Keller said.
In a written statement, Keller said that Collins regularly pushes back on the Trump administration, citing a recent example in which she spoke out against the administration’s attempts to exert control over grants administered by the National Institutes of Health.
Democrats here have tried to make abortion a major issue in the Senate race, blaming Collins for the loss of federal abortion protections under Roe v. Wade because she cast a key vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Four years after that 2018 vote, the court struck down federal abortion protections. Collins has said she doesn’t regret voting for the justice.
The Maine Democratic Party, along with abortion rights groups, have been highlighting Collins’ more recent votes to approve other federal judges who oppose abortion. Collins’ office has said she weighs judicial appointments based on whether a judge is qualified, not necessarily on whether she agrees with the judge on every policy issue.
On Thursday, Overton faced pressure from both sides of the aisle over medication abortion.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Mifepristone has been approved as safe by the FDA for more than two decades, and that she worried the administration would pressure the agency to prohibit doctors from prescribing it remotely through telehealth visits.
“You have effectively taken about 80% of the communities in our state and put them in a very challenging position,” Murkowski said.
Overton acknowledged that the drug “is safe and effective as labeled today.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said he was concerned that Overton’s statements seemed to conflict with what the FDA is saying in court filings in his state and Louisiana about Mifepristone. In 2023, the Biden administration ended in-person dispensing requirements for the drug. Conservative-led states have since sued hoping to change the way the drug is regulated.
Overton noted that the FDA is conducting an internal safety review of changes made during the Biden presidency. But she would not speculate on what that review might find.
“Women’s health and women’s safety is a critical piece of this,” Overton said.
Senators on both sides of the aisle also had difficulty getting Overton to admit that Trump was wrong when he falsely claimed that acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, causes autism, or when he said a combined vaccination for the measles, mumps and rubella could be fatal to children.
Overton stood by Trump in the Oval Office when he signed an executive order recommending that doctors split up the combined vaccine into three shots.
Overton told committee members that the combined vaccine was safe and effective, but declined to say that Trump was wrong.
“The MMR vaccine is currently licensed and approved by the FDA,” she said. “It is safe and effective, and it is our best tool right now in the public health response to the measles outbreak.”