The incoming President of the United States, Joe Biden and his team are beginning to give clear signs of how they intend to run an inclusive government, as the President-elect names Rachel Levine, a transgender as Assistant Health Secretary.
The nomination of Dr.Rachel Levine to the post will be the first time in the history of the United States, that an openly transgender federal official would be confirmed by the U.S Senate.
The pick of Pennsylvania’s top health official for a critical role during the raging COVID-19 pandemic continues Biden’s pattern of selecting a historically diverse slate of leaders for senior administration roles.
Dr Rachel Levine would serve under Xavier Becerra, Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The professor of paediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine has led Pennsylvania’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak as the commonwealth’s top health official.
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,” Biden said in a statement.
Like Becerra, Levine’s nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which Biden’s fellow Democrats narrowly control.
In a statement, Biden’s transition team noted Levine had been confirmed three times by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania state senate and, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would be the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by U.S. lawmakers.
“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.
Levine joins other health-related nominees named to the incoming Biden administration in recent days, including former Food and Drug Administrator David Kessler.
Biden has said tackling the novel coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout is a top priority when he takes office Wednesday, unveiling plans to ramp up vaccinations and rev up the economy with $1.9 trillion in stimulus funding.