Pennsylvania Department of health Director Rachel Levine
President-elect Joe Biden has announced the nomination of Rachel Levine, the director of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and an openly transgender person, to the position of assistant U.S. secretary of health. Levine is expected to become the first transgender person in U.S. history to serve as a federal government official.
Levine, a pediatrician and former Pennsylvania internist, was appointed by Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Tom Wolf, in 2017 to the position of director of the state’s Department of Health, making Levine one of the few top transgender officials at the state level in the country. Levin had been confirmed by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate and was one of the public faces of Pennsylvania during the outbreak.
In a statement, President-elect Biden said, “Dr. Rachel Levin will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic – regardless of where they live, their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or whether they have a disability -and meet our nation’s public health needs in this emergency” and “she is a historic and highly qualified choice to help lead our government’s health efforts.”
A graduate of Harvard University and Tulane Medical School, Levin is president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. She has written past papers on the opioid crisis, medical marijuana, teen drugs, eating disorders and LGBTQ drug-related issues.
Prior to that, it was widely reported in the U.S. media that Biden was interested in nominating Charlotte Clymer, an American author and transgender woman, as U.S. secretary of Education to help his administration create a diverse system. On Dec. 15, Clymer called the nomination claims a lie by Trump supporters.
Levin was later confirmed as the first transgender official nominee, confirming the Biden team’s intent to form a “diversity team.
Biden’s nominee for secretary of health and human services is Xavier Becerra, a Latino politician, former congressman and California attorney general. Rochelle Walensky, an infectious disease expert, will head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition, the Trump Administration‘s outbreak prevention and control expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, will continue to work closely with the Biden Administration to provide advice on public health issues.
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