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# Former CDC Director Urges Swift Overton Confirmation
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/former-cdc-director-urges-swift-overton-confirmation/
- Published: 2026-11-13T18:12:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T18:12:05.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General

Former CDC Director **Robert Redfield** is urging the Senate to confirm **Heidi Overton** as FDA commissioner before the end of the year, arguing that prolonged uncertainty over the agency's leadership could undermine U.S. competitiveness in biotechnology and threaten national health security.

In a recent [opinion article](https://www.antigojournal.com/opinion/robert-r-redfield-the-fda-needs-stable-leadership/article%5F27d03148-7829-42d2-91f4-4f6781f7ad4e.html?ref=fdaweb.com), Redfield warned that China's growing capabilities in clinical research, drug discovery, xenotransplantation and biopharmaceutical development pose economic and national security risks that require coordinated federal action and stable FDA leadership.

Redfield, who headed CDC from 2018 to 2021 during President Trump's first administration, said delays in modernizing FDA's regulatory processes could shift clinical research and investment overseas while slowing patient access to new therapies.

He pointed to concerns raised by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chairman **Bill Cassidy** (R-LA) about China's growing share of clinical trials and its ability to initiate early-stage studies more efficiently.

Redfield described Overton as particularly qualified because of her clinical research background and experience advising the White House on health policy. He argued that FDA could accelerate development without compromising scientific standards for safety and efficacy.

The former CDC director specifically called on Cassidy to help secure Overton's confirmation during the lame-duck congressional session.