Spiegel Stuff: The Movement: MAHA and anti-abortion groups split on FDA nominee

By Helen Huiskes | Tuesday, August 25

United Press International

MAHA and anti-abortion groups split on FDA nominee

Anti-abortion groups and other conservatives largely applauded the White House announcement that President Trump would nominate health policy aide Dr. Heidi Overton for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, viewing her as their champion for, among other things, bringing an end to medication abortion.

But others in the conservative world were less thrilled. Overton is not a favorite of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, whose proponents see her as an obstacle to their goals.

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Alex Clark, a MAHA podcaster, told her followers to press their senators against confirming Overton, citing her involvement in an executive order earlier this year that boosted production of glyphosate herbicides, something the MAHA movement is staunchly against.

Clark, in a series of posts on social platform X, said Overton “wrote” the executive order and “has EXTENSIVE personal ties to Bayer,” referring to the pharmaceutical and biotech giant that produces many herbicides.

“Everyone knows she is the biggest roadblock in the admin when it comes to getting several true MAHA initiatives done,” Clark said of Overton. Several unnamed sources said the same in a story about Overton in The Atlantic last month.

Clark’s fervor provoked a White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, to push back online.

“Anyone suggesting that Heidi wrote this EO [executive order], has ties to Bayer, or isn't MAHA has no clue what they're talking about,” Desai said. “Pretty much every MAHA win by this Administration absolutely would not have been possible without Heidi often singlehandedly running interagency policy processes.”

Clark dug further in, saying “MAHA moms are smarter than this” and arguing that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is “the most capable fighter we have” but that he’s surrounded by people who “share none of his values.”

The divisions over Overton show an area of friction between the MAHA and the anti-abortion wings of Trump’s coalition. That’s significant as Republicans and the White House look to shore up their base in advance of the midterms and 2028 because both groups are passionate sectors of Trump’s support and risking either is dangerous for Republicans going forward.

Anti-abortion conservatives, for the most part, have been rooting for the administration’s agenda since the beginning, although some have expressed disappointment at what they see as a lack of progress. They’re pushing Trump to crack down further on mifepristone and permanently strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood.

Overton’s appointment is a signal to those anti-abortion advocates that the administration is still moving toward those goals. Overton has denounced abortion and called for more restrictions on prescribing mifepristone. That’s especially relevant as the FDA is currently reviewing the safety of the drug.

Anti-abortion groups lauded Overton’s promotion last week.

“She has the scientific and medical background that will enable her to perform an objective analysis of the dangers chemical abortion poses to women,” John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, said in a statement.

Lila Rose, president of Live Action, congratulated Overton in a post on X.

“This is a chance to restore trust and put health over politics,” Rose said. “Dr. Overton should pull the deadly abortion pill from the market. Step one: end mail-order abortions that kill babies even in pro-life states.”

There were other Republican voices against Overton for different reasons. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate committee that will process Overton’s nomination, said he had “strong concerns” about her stance on childhood vaccine recommendations, which has been a sticking point between Cassidy, also a medical doctor, and the administration.

Overton stood next to Trump at a recent ceremony where he signed an executive order paring down the childhood vaccine recommendations. In that, she is aligned with the MAHA movement and Kennedy.

Conservative commentator Laura Loomer also spoke out against Overton, alleging Overton was involved in Health and Human Services’s (HHS) "MAHA Report," which came out last May and was soon discovered to contain thousands of fake citations.

“Now that Heidi Overton has been selected as the head of the FDA, I’ll remind everyone that she was one of the officials involved in the publication of the notorious and highly embarrassing White House ‘MAHA report’, which was full of fake and AI citations,” Loomer said in a post.

Welcome to The Movement, a weekly newsletter looking at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. I'm Helen Huiskes, a Senate reporter at The Hill. Tell me what’s on your radar: hhuiskes@thehill.com

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GOP HOPES FOR HYPE IN DALLAS CONVENTION

The next step in the Republican midterm strategy: hype.

Republicans will be looking to harness pep rally-style hype, viral moments and strong party unity at the Republican National Committee (RNC) convention in Dallas in a few weeks. The event is the first of its kind: in a normal cycle, national party conventions like this are held every four years as a chance to crown a presidential nominee.

But this is not a normal cycle. Republicans are seeing polls that point against them in races down the ballot and around the country as Trump’s approval ratings remain low. In primary elections all over, Democratic voters have turned out in swarms while many Republicans have stayed home.

Republicans are hoping to course-correct with a rousing rally in a key Senate battleground. A GOP strategist told me that the goal is to “build enthusiasm” for the election and remind voters of the stakes if Republicans lose their majorities in Congress, pitching it as “common-sense versus communism.”

Neil Newhouse, Republican strategist and partner at Public Opinion Strategies, told me by email that news of the convention doesn’t seem to have broken through to voters much yet. There are few details about what will happen there besides a website with a list of potential speakers that includes Trump, most of his Cabinet, and a handful of governors, members of Congress, and other prominent MAGA World names.

But if the convention can create some steam to power the Republican message into November, Newhouse said it could be useful.

“To the extent that this convention can reach some of these disaffected or disinterested GOP faithful and reinforce what’s at stake in this election, that could make a significant difference on election day,” Newhouse said.

The stated goals of the convention, according to the website, are as follows: celebrating “the America First agenda” as Trump has enacted it thus far in his term; christening “the American comeback” by “recognizing hardworking Americans … whose work is driving economic growth, advancing energy dominance, and ushering in a new Golden Age of American prosperity”; and celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Douglas Heye, a former RNC chair and Republican strategist, told me he’s looking to hear more about the agenda for the convention. Although novel, he said, he sees the appeal of the event.

“The idea isn’t a bad one — that it’s not been done before is not a concern, trying something different given historical midterm trends could be helpful, especially for fundraising,” Heye said.

It’s no coincidence that this will all go down at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Texas’s Senate race between state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has Trump’s endorsement, and state legislator James Talarico is one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate contests in history.

The timing is also strategic. The two-day event will run Sept. 9-10, right as primaries end and before early voting for November’s general election begins.

RANCHERS VS. TRUMP SHOWDOWN IN OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR'S RACE

Republican voters in Oklahoma will decide Tuesday between Mike Mazzei, Trump’s pick for the next governor, and state Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a rancher. The contest comes amid a furious few days where Republicans of all stripes criticized the White House for lowering import tariffs on foreign beef at the expense of American ranchers.

Drummond on Sunday joined the chorus of Republicans saying Trump was “wrong” to lower tariffs on beef.

“I do think the majority of Oklahomans would agree that the tariffs are too far, that importing cheap beef only injures Oklahoma’s cattlemen, ranchers and farmers,” Drummond told NewsNation.

Trump announced last week that he would temporarily allow more foreign beef into the U.S. at a lower price for importers, an attempt to bring down the cost of a grocery staple as “affordability” looms decisively above the November midterms. But Republican lawmakers and MAGA commentators alike were quick to push back.

“I’ve advised President Trump against this course of action for a year because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them – most of whom are MAGA Republicans,” Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) said on X.

The Republican runoff for the Oklahoma governor’s mansion will be, in some ways, a test of how powerful Trump’s endorsement is for Oklahoma primary voters, especially against a high-profile state official like Drummond. Five of Trump’s picks for gubernatorial races have already lost primaries this summer.

ON MY CALENDAR

What’s moving The Movement in the days ahead.

Sept. 4-6

The inaugural Italian version of the Conservative Political Action Conference convenes a leadership summit, gala and other events in Rome. U.S. conservative leaders, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and other high-profile officials from Europe and the U.S. are among the special guests. Details here.

Sept. 16

American Conservation Coalition, Discipulus Ventures and the Foundation for American Innovation host The New Industrial Age Forum, underwritten by Google, Lockheed Martin, Amazon and others. The goal is to “plan the restoration of America’s industrial independence,” with a focus on tech and AI. Details here.

THREE MORE THINGS

1. US assumes leadership of international anti-abortion group

The USA has assumed leadership of the Geneva Consensus Declaration secretariat, a coalition of 42 nations dedicated to affirming that there is no international right to an abortion and translating that into policy in signer countries. It will be housed under HHS’s Office of Global Affairs and Director Bethany Kozma. More here.

2. School board at center of culture wars swings progressive

A Florida school board whose longstanding conservative majority had the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Moms for Liberty flipped to a progressive majority last week. The district had been seen as a microcosm of school board culture wars. More here.

3. The latest Alex Jones rulings

Alex Jones will still need to pay more than $1 billion to families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting after courts in Connecticut and Texas judged the Infowars founder responsible for defamation as he spread conspiracy theories about the shooting. More here.