The Senate Finance Committee voted Sept. 24 to send two of President Donald Trump’s HHS nominees to the full Senate for confirmation: Chris Klomp for HHS deputy secretary and Ge Bai, PhD, for an HHS assistant secretary post.
The same day, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions delayed its vote on Nicole Saphier, MD, the nominee for surgeon general, and Timothy Westlake, MD, the nominee for assistant secretary for mental health and substance use. The HELP Committee also held a confirmation hearing for Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, President Trump’s nominee for FDA commissioner.
Six things to know:
1. Mr. Klomp’s nomination advanced 15-12, and Dr. Bai’s nomination advanced 14-13, according to the Finance Committee.
2. HHS named Mr. Klomp chief counselor in February, and he became one of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s deputies in March. He has been CMS’ Medicare director since April 2025.
President Trump nominated Dr. Bai in June. She serves as HHS’ principal deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. She is also a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School and Bloomberg School of Public Health, where her research focuses on healthcare pricing and hospital finances.
3. The HELP Committee’s vote on Dr. Saphier, Dr. Westlake and Mary Lazare, the nominee for HHS assistant secretary for aging, will not happen this week, according to a Sept. 24 news release. No new date has been scheduled. The committee questioned Dr. Saphier, Dr. Westlake and Mr. Klomp on vaccines, measles and overdose deaths at a Sept. 16 hearing.
4. President Trump nominated Dr. Overton as FDA commissioner in August. She serves as a deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. If confirmed, she would replace Marty Makary, MD, who resigned as FDA commissioner in May. Kyle Diamantas has led the agency in an acting capacity since May.
5. Questioned by HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La., Dr. Overton said the MMR vaccine “is not lethal.” She also said all vaccines currently on the U.S. market meet the FDA’s standards for safety and effectiveness, ABC News reported Sept. 24. Dr. Cassidy and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asked whether she would push back on the president over policy decisions. She did not answer directly and said she would follow the law, according to ABC News.
6. Mifepristone was another focus of the hearing. Dr. Overton told Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., that the drug is “safe and effective as labeled today” under FDA standards. She would not say whether the label should be revised, pointing to the agency’s ongoing safety review, Politico reported Sept. 24. After the hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters his support could depend on her clarifying those remarks, according to Politico. When Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked about acetaminophen and autism, Dr. Overton said she had “not seen any causal evidence” linking the two, ABC News reported.
