Right-wing group fighting to hold key Trump nomination hostage

An anti-abortion group is trying to obstruct the confirmation of a key Trump administration nominee, in order to get one of its major demands met.

President Donald Trump has nominated Heidi Overton to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration — but the Susan B. Anthony List is not satisfied she will implement the restrictions on abortion medication that they want to see.

In a written statement issued on Wednesday morning, SBA legal strategy vice president Erik Baptist vowed to hold up the nomination until this guarantee is given.

"Confirmation is not a coronation," stated Baptist. "Before Heidi Overton's nomination moves forward, senators must secure commitments from the administration that it will immediately restore the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and address the serious flaws with the FDA's mifepristone safety study."

'It is a tragedy that the Biden-era mail-order abortion drug regime remains in effect because the Trump administration has thus far chosen to defend and enforce it," Baptist continued. "The administration can still reverse course. As long as this policy remains in effect, any pregnant woman is vulnerable to a third party obtaining abortion drugs and using them against her wishes. Meanwhile, an estimated 15,000 unborn babies a month will die in pro-life states alone thanks to illegal mail-order abortion drugs."

Baptist concluded that Trump's administration "must fix those issues before the Senate can act on Overton's nomination."

Restriction of mifepristone has been a key policy goal of Republican groups for years. A Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas briefly ordered the FDA to decertify the medication under the Biden administration, but the Supreme Court later reversed this.