{
  "id": 9885382,
  "title": "Can Trump ever be wrong? His pick to lead FDA refused to say.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/can-trump-ever-be-wrong-his-pick-to-lead-fda-refused-to-say-9885382",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-25T23:00:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ars Technica",
    "slug": "ars-technica",
    "url": "https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/09/can-trump-ever-be-wrong-his-pick-to-lead-fda-refused-to-say/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Heidi Overton, nominated by President Trump to head the Food and Drug Administration, appeared before the Senate health committee on Thursday. The committee grilled her on her positions regarding vaccines, flavored vapes, birth control, and abortion, among other topics. Overton, a physician with a doctorate in clinical investigation, currently serves as the president's deputy assistant for domestic policy. She has previously worked at a conservative think tank and has consistently opposed abortion, which raises concerns about her impartiality. The FDA is currently assessing the safety of the abortion pill, mifepristone, despite copious evidence indicating its safety. Overton also supported President Trump's false claim in an August press conference that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is extremely dangerous. He further suggested that infant vaccine doses are akin to soda bottle sizes, and called for the MMR vaccine to be divided into three separate immunizations. However, there is no scientific evidence supporting the benefits of such a split, and no such individual immunizations are currently available in the United States.",
  "summary": "Heidi Overton faced questions focused on vaccines, birth control, and vapes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Trump’s pick to lead FDA health agency grilled by Senate",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/trumps-pick-to-lead-fda-health-agency-grilled-by-senate",
        "published": "2026-09-25T00:17:45.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Senate approves legislation targeted at pilot, air traffic control mental health guidance",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/senate-approves-legislation-targeted-at-pilot-air-traffic-control",
        "published": "2026-09-25T18:51:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ars Technica Health",
        "title": "Can Trump ever be wrong? His pick to lead FDA refused to say.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/can-trump-ever-be-wrong-his-pick-to-lead-fda-refused-to-say",
        "published": "2026-09-25T23:00:26.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}