Biden Nominee Dr. Rachel Levine Is on Track to Be the First Openly Trans Federal Official in the U.S.
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President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Dr. Rachel Levine, an expert leading Pennsylvania's public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to serve as the assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services. If confirmed by the Senate, Levine, a transgender woman, will become the first openly trans federal official in the United States.
Levine is currently the secretary of health for Pennsylvania and has been confirmed three times by the state's Republican-controlled Senate.
In a press release, Biden praised Levine and acknowledged the historical significance of the nomination. "Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic—no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability—and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond," he said. "She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts."
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also backed Levine's nomination in a statement. "Dr. Rachel Levine is a remarkable public servant with the knowledge and experience to help us contain this pandemic, and protect and improve the health and well-being of the American people," she said. "President-elect Biden and I look forward to working with her to meet the unprecedented challenges facing Americans and rebuild our country in a way that lifts everyone up."
Levine is also a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine and the President of ASTHO, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
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