The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's chief counsel, Hilary Perkins, has resigned, the agency announced Thursday in a post on social media platform X, just two days after her appointment was made public.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, has removed the news of her appointment from its official announcement issued on Tuesday.

The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Perkins could not be reached for comment.

The resignation follows public criticism from Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who questioned Perkins' appointment. Hawley raised concerns about Perkins' legal background and criticized FDA Commissioner nominee Martin Makary for the selection.

Perkins, who joined the Department of Justice in 2019 from a Washington, D.C., law firm, has previously been involved in litigation related to the abortion pill mifepristone.

Hawley posted on X that Makary was "attempting to sneak a Biden abortion lawyer into top leadership at FDA."

Following the announcement of Perkins’ resignation, Hawley posted that he was "pleased to see that Dr. Makary has reconsidered his decision."

Makary, who is awaiting confirmation as FDA Commissioner, has stated he intends to closely review the agency’s data collection under its risk mitigation program for mifepristone, a drug used in medical abortions that is currently the subject of legal and regulatory challenges in several Republican-led states.

Before being appointed as the FDA's chief counsel, Perkins worked in the Justice Department's consumer protection division.