“Senator, the president asks questions and wants the best outcomes for the American people right now.”
Hassan kept pressing, switching to Trump’s false claim that Tylenol taken during pregnancy is linked to autism in children. “Was he wrong when he said that? Yes or no?” Again, Overton didn’t answer, only saying “There is no current evidence of a causal link between Tylenol and autism.”
“I wish it wasn’t so difficult for members of the administration to just plainly say that the president’s wrong,” Hassan said. “And it’s really concerning to me that you are equivocating on it here.”
Bad options
Sen. Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-Del.) also asked about the vaccine claims Trump made in August, noting that reports suggested it was Overton herself who suggested to Trump that the combination vaccine could be split into multiple shots. Even if there was reason to think splitting the vaccine would improve safety and/or efficacy, it would take huge investments and years of trials to get the individual vaccines approved in the US.
“So obviously,” Blunt-Rochester asked, “you think these were good options, correct?”
Overton replied that, in her current role, her job is to give Trump options.
“You wouldn’t have provided bad options, right?”
But Overton again wouldn’t answer Blunt-Rochester’s question. “This is just a simple question,” Blunt-Rochester interjected. “This, I thought, was the easy question.” Blunt-Rochester went on to ask Overton if she reviewed data about splitting the MMR vaccine or if current doses were the size of a soda bottle, but again she dodged the questions.
Flavored vapes
The FDA has been without a commissioner since May, when Marty Makary resigned from the role after resisting Trump’s pressure to approve flavored vapes. The FDA issued a policy allowing their sale in early May, despite bipartisan opposition to the products, which are largely seen at being marketed to youth.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) laid out a timeline of how it happened, saying:
On April 30th, it’s a Thursday afternoon, Reynolds, one of the biggest tobacco companies in the country, makes an $8 million donation to the president. Two days later on Saturday, because of that donation, they have lunch with the president and they tell him that they want a change in FDA rules, especially regarding flavored vapes. The president calls the FDA commissioner, he calls the secretary of [the health department], and three days later on Tuesday, new guidance is issued that paves the way to the sale of flavored vapes.
Murphy asked Overton if she saw a connection between the donation and the policy change, and if that’s how she thinks the FDA should work. “I reject the framing of that question,” Overton replied, adding that Trump is “committed to the best possible outcomes for American.”
