The chief counsel hand-selected by Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner-designee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has resigned due to increased scrutiny of her background by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO). 

BREAKING: Lawyer Who Defended Abortion Pills Under Biden Resigns as FDA Chief Counsel https://t.co/wBBtN4YRC1 pic.twitter.com/EP5zEnO66N

— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) March 13, 2025

Hawley is part of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and his vote was pivotal in advancing Makary's nomination to the full Senate:

A lawyer who defended abortion and vaccine mandates will no longer be the top legal representative for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the Trump administration following public scrutiny of her history, the FDA announced Thursday.

On Tuesday, Axios reported the selection of Hilary Perkins for FDA chief counsel, and that she was the choice of Dr. Marty Makary, President Donald Trump’s nominee for FDA commissioner. Makary testified before the Senate this week he would spearhead objective reviews of abortion pill and vaccine policy, commitments conservatives had little reason to doubt given his credentials as a critic of the COVID-19 establishment.

“We’ve been able to recruit higher quality personnel to HHS than in any time in its history,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “These are individuals who will return the agency to gold-standard science, evidence-based medicine, and recalibrate its trajectory toward public health rather than industry profiteering.”

However, the report noted that Perkins had been the Justice Department attorney who defended the Biden administration’s relaxation of rules governing the dispensation of abortion pills in court.

On Wednesday, Sen. Hawley casually dropped this X post, highlighting the Axios article that cited Perkins' prior advocacy for vaccine mandates and her pro-abortion defense on behalf of the Biden administration:

This can’t be right. This report says Marty Makary is trying to sneak a Biden abortion lawyer into a top leadership position at FDA. I can’t imagine anyone who would be more at odds with President Trump’s agenda https://t.co/f56xEesHfA

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 12, 2025

From the Axios article:

A Justice Department attorney who defended the availability of abortion pills in a high-profile case during the Biden administration will be the Food and Drug Administration's top lawyer, a choice made by commissioner-designate Marty Makary.

The decision to select Hilary Perkins as FDA chief counsel has been deeply controversial within the administration. Health and Human Services officials didn't like the choice but were overriden by the White House, sources said.

Perkins' appointment is according to four sources familiar, including an HHS official and someone close to Makary's preparation and transition who is in communication with HHS officials. HHS published a press release confirming her appointment after this story first published.

Hawley further stirred the pot in another X thread, outlining the cases Perkins had argued on behalf of the Biden administration--and even going so far as to question Makary's "judgment" to lead the FDA.

I was so surprised by the @axios report today that Marty Makary was attempting to sneak a Biden abortion lawyer into top leadership at FDA that I had my team do some research. It turns out this Biden lawyer has argued FOR Biden’s outrageous pro-abortion rules in *many* cases.…

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 13, 2025

I was so surprised by the @axios report today that Marty Makary was attempting to sneak a Biden abortion lawyer into top leadership at FDA that I had my team do some research. It turns out this Biden lawyer has argued FOR Biden’s outrageous pro-abortion rules in *many* cases. This one from this January - https://endpts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/fda-motion-to-dismiss.pdf

She also argued FOR Biden’s draconian, discredited vaccine mandates. Her brief in one case said objections to COVID-19 mandates  “verge on the conspiratorial—e.g., that there is no public health emergency and that the American people have been psychologically manipulated.”  The brief also stated that Biden’s orders  mandating vaccination “strike a careful balance between the federal government's compelling interest in stemming the spread of COVID-19 and certain individuals' medical or religious reasons for declining vaccination.” America’s Frontline Doctors v. United States

I can’t understand why Marty Makary would want someone who used the government to IMPOSE vaccines on millions of Americans and served as a Biden abortion lawyer to be his chief counsel. It calls into question his judgment

Hawley appeared to be withholding a YES vote on Makary's nomination, and the revelations about Perkins' background had their intended effect. Once Perkins tendered her resignation, Hawley expressed his approval of Makary's decision to withdraw his support of Perkins as FDA chief counsel. 

I am pleased to see that Dr. Makary has reconsidered his decision to make this Biden abortion lawyer the top counsel at FDA https://t.co/QQPUTKF1Pb

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 13, 2025

Along with NIH director-designee Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Dr. Makary's nomination was voted through the HELP committee and will receive a full vote in the Senate.

Trump’s picks to run FDA and NIH win approval from Senate’s health committee
Makary gets rare bipartisan support to lead FDA

The Senate health committee voted on Thursday to endorse Marty Makary as Food and Drug Administration commissioner and Jay Bhattacharya as director of the… pic.twitter.com/d98PyWaWKo

— Camus (@newstart_2024) March 13, 2025

President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Marty Makary, passed a key committee vote 14-9 on Thursday morning, clearing the way for a full Senate vote on his nomination. 

If confirmed before the full Senate, Makary will work alongside the nominee for National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to achieve Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again agenda. 

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted in favor of Makary's confirmation following his committee hearing one week ago today.

As this is a developing story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.