Biden Nomination of Rachel Levine, First Overtly Transgender Individual for Senate-Confirmed Position, Praised by LGBTQ Orgs

Acting President Joe Biden will become Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, officially appointed Assistant Secretary of Health for the Department of Health and Human Services. The Biden transition team calls Dr. Levine a “highly skilled and effective public health officer and expert” who is now “poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be ratified by the US Senate.”

Dr. Levine, who is also a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine, also previously served as a general practitioner in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Tulane University School of Medicine and was educated at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, nominated Dr. Levine for both positions in Pennsylvania, where she was unanimously endorsed.

LGBTQ organizations praise Dr. Levine.

“Our nation is fortunate to have nominated Dr. Rachel Levine for a role so important in ending this pandemic, and her experience at the frontline in Pennsylvania will be invaluable as Assistant Secretary,” said Annise Parker. the former mayor of Houston who is now president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Institute, in a statement. “Your nomination is groundbreaking and shows that the Biden administration will select the most qualified individuals to lead our nation regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Dr. Levine makes history and will change how Americans perceive trans people when she takes office and starts working for them. “

“Dr. Levine is immediately qualified to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, in a statement. “Your work in Pennsylvania has been exemplary and has been beneficial to health When the National LGBTQ Task Force praised Pete Buttigieg’s appointment as Secretary of Transportation, we said it should be “the first of many firsts,” and that’s exactly what we meant. Appointing different LGBTQ individuals at all levels of government This includes trans and non-binary people as well as people of color. We are very pleased that Dr. Levine has been nominated, especially at HHS where the LGBTQ community has been seriously attacked by the outgoing administration. “

Image via Biden Transition Team