Rep. Buddy Carter Emerges as a Dark Horse Candidate to Lead the FDA

The White House is considering Republican Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a source familiar with the administration’s thinking confirmed Tuesday.

Choosing Carter for the position would be a pivot for the White House. His name has not been on previously reported short lists for the position.

Carter is leaving Congress at the end of the year; a strong Trump ally, he failed to gain the president’s endorsement in his May GOP primary bid for Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat, and he lost the race. He is a licensed pharmacist and previously owned his own pharmacy, Carter’s Pharmacy, for more than three decades. His license is , according to the Georgia Department of Community Health.

“Carter is interested in the position of FDA commissioner and would bring a unique mix of both policy and real world health experience,” the source said in a statement provided to NOTUS. “He’s a bipartisan champion for patients, providers and innovators with strong relationships inside the administration, in the industry and across the aisle.”

The White House has been considering other candidates recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services for more than a month, but has been slow to officially nominate anyone. Its search has left a lane open for a dark horse candidate to enter the running. Domestic Policy Council adviser Heidi Overton and oncologist Jeff Vacirca are also being considered.

Former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned from the position in April as the White House was considering firing him, frustrated over his resistance to approving fruit-flavored cigarettes.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NOTUS.

Carter has also been a consistent defender of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He has said he believes routine childhood vaccines are safe and effective but has backed the secretary’s shifts in federal vaccine guidance and stressed his opposition to government vaccine requirements.

President Donald Trump declined to endorse Carter — or any other candidate — in the Republican Senate primary. Carter came in third in the polls, and Rep. Mike Collins (R-Georgia) and former football coach Derek Dooley advanced to a runoff. Trump issued a last-minute endorsement in the runoff for Collins, who went on to win the nomination.

Carter has not endorsed Collins. The Georgia Senate race currently leans Democrat, according to the nonpartisan bellwether Cook Political Report.