Overton tells HELP: MMR ‘not lethal’; all U.S. vaccines safe, she says
At her FDA confirmation hearing, Dr. Heidi Overton told Sen. Bill Cassidy the MMR vaccine “is not lethal” and every U.S.-market vaccine is safe and effective, Reuters and ABC report — while deflecting on Trump’s “lethal” claim and telling Sen. Patty Murray mifepristone met FDA safety standards.
Updated ~11:58 a.m. ET: At her Senate HELP confirmation hearing Thursday, Dr. Heidi Overton — President Trump’s pick to lead the FDA — told Chairman Bill Cassidy the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine “is not lethal” and that every vaccine on the U.S. market is “safe and effective, according to the FDA,” Reuters and ABC News both report from the Dirksen 430 session that began about 10:30 a.m. ET.
Cassidy, a physician who had called Overton’s role in Trump’s childhood-vaccine executive order “almost disqualifying,” pressed her on Trump’s August claim that the combined MMR shot could be “quite lethal.” ABC says she affirmed MMR safety and efficacy but deflected when asked whether she disagreed with the president’s characterization. Reuters notes Cassidy also flagged keeping politics out of FDA decisions and that Overton is expected to face questions on whether she would defy Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Trump if ordered to take unscientific or illegal actions.
On medication abortion, ABC reports Sen. Patty Murray asked whether mifepristone is safe and effective; Overton replied that it “has met the safety and efficacy standard according to the FDA review,” while Murray cited Overton’s earlier writings describing medication abortion as dangerous to women. Overton did not answer directly when asked whether an IUD is an abortifacient. Reuters separately notes the panel postponed its planned vote on surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier.
Accounts agree on the Cassidy–Overton vaccine exchange and that abortion-pill scrutiny is live. They diverge on how far Overton’s hearing answers move moderate Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, and on whether affirming current FDA vaccine labels resolves Cassidy’s loyalty concerns. Late-morning coverage still framed the hearing as underway; this card sticks to multi-outlet confirmed exchanges only.
Officials and independent outlets continue updating confirmed details as they become available. NewsHabit’s card sticks to multi-outlet confirmation for this edition and notes where accounts still diverge, without projecting outcomes that the published record does not yet support.
Both sides of contested claims are preserved in the agreement and conflict fields so the homepage card does not collapse disagreement into a single narrative voice.
Where outlets agree Reuters and ABC News agree Overton told Cassidy the MMR vaccine is not lethal and that every vaccine on the U.S. market is safe and effective according to the FDA; ABC further confirms Murray’s mifepristone exchange and Overton’s reply that the drug met FDA safety and efficacy standards.
Where they differ Overton affirmed current FDA vaccine labels but, per ABC, deflected on whether she disagrees with Trump’s “lethal” MMR claim; on abortion she cited FDA review standards while past writings criticized medication abortion — leaving Collins/Murkowski and Cassidy’s loyalty test unresolved as the hearing continued.