The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Rachel Levine as assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Why it matters: Levine is the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The vote was 52-48.
Background: Levine, who is a graduate of Harvard and Tulane Medical School, has helped lead Pennsylvania’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She previously served as the state’s physician general. Continue reading.
Rachel Levine — the Biden administration’s pick to be assistant secretary of Health and Human Services — was grilled during her confirmation hearing by Sen. Rand Paul about trans health care. The Kentucky Republican falsely equated transgender youth seeking medical care to “genital mutilation.”
If confirmed, Levine would be the highest-ranking transgender political appointee in the federal government.
Paul did not ask similar questions of Vivek Murthy, who was also testifying before the Senate HELP Committee on Thursday to be surgeon general. Continue reading.
