Biden selects transgender woman to serve as his assistant secretary of health
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Jan 20, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden nominated Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender health official in Pennsylvania, on Tuesday to serve as assistant Health and Human Services secretary.
In a statement, Mr Biden's transition team noted Levine had been confirmed three times by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania state senate and, if confirmed by the US Senate, she would be the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by US lawmakers.
She has also played an integral role in the state's coronavirus response. "She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration's health efforts", Biden said, adding her expertise also included the opioid crisis, medical marijuana and LGBTQ+ medicine, among other areas.
"My heart is full with a burning desire to help people and my time is full with working toward protecting the public health of everyone in Pennsylvania from the impact of the global pandemic due to COVID-19".
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Shattering barriers is, after all, practically a hobby of the medical pioneer, who was first appointed to her current post as state health secretary by Democratic governor Tom Wolf in 2017 - becoming one of the few trans people in the country to hold an elected or appointed position.
Levine, 64, is a graduate of Harvard College and the Tulane University School of Medicine and is the president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Levine, who is the secretary of health for Pennsylvania, is now leading the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She called out those responsible at a press briefing in July. The president-elect cited Levine's work on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Pharmacies will be very important and necessary, but not sufficient", Levine said.
In the Tuesday statement announcing Levine's selection, Biden acknowledged Levine's depth of experience and the momentous nature of her nomination. Karine Jean-Pierre will be the first openly lesbian person to serve as the chief of staff to a vice president. "We need to get the vaccines into arms".
Cabinet-level and senior positions like this require confirmation by the Senate, which will be in the Democrats' hands after Mr Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris are sworn in Wednesday.
