Biden picks Pa.’s Dr. Rachel Levine as assistant health secretary
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President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, as his administration’s assistant secretary of health. The move is being championed by civil rights organizations as it would make her the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Biden, in announcing the pick, commended Levine’s work in handling the state’s response to the covid-19 pandemic.
“Dr. 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 — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.”
Locally, Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus called her nomination an amazing moment.
“That’s a pretty amazing moment in American history to see that President-elect Biden has the constitution to put forward such a qualified candidate at a difficult time,” he said at the close of council’s Tuesday meeting. “I’m terribly proud.”
Levine, a pediatrician and the state’s former physician general, was appointed to her current post by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Tulane Medical School, and she is the president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Levine released a short statement acknowledging her nomination and calling her time with the Wolf administration the highlight of her career.
President-elect Biden is naming more major administration officials as he prepares to take the oath of office tomorrow.
Among them is a historic choice for Assistant Secretary of Health: Rachel Levine. pic.twitter.com/nTOmWhzfSm
— The Recount (@therecount) January 20, 2021
“I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve Pennsylvanians, and all Americans, as part of the Biden administration if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed to this position,” she said.
Wolf, in a statement, congratulated Levine. The pair, over the past 10 months, have become the faces of the pandemic in Pennsylvania.
“Dr. Levine is a highly skilled and valued member of my administration, and she will be greatly missed,” Wolf said. “She has been a wise and dedicated partner during this pandemic and throughout her career with the commonwealth. I couldn’t be prouder of the tireless work she’s done to serve Pennsylvanians and protect the public health.”
Wolf said he would announce plans for Levine’s replacement later in the week.
Before the pandemic took hold, Levine spent years first as physician general and then as secretary of health championing treatment for opioid addiction and getting the overdose-reversal drug naloxone into the hands of as many people as possible, from first responders and pharmacists to families and friends of those with substance use disorder.
Her 2015 standing order made it possible for anyone to go to a pharmacy and request a prescription for the drug, commonly sold under the name Narcan.
Wolf highlighted the range of her work with the state, including her efforts to highlight “the need for adequate medical care and access for the LGBTQ community.”
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, lauded Biden’s decision to tap Levine for the federal position.
“At a time when access to health care is a growing crisis for transgender people made worse by anti-LGBTQ legislation and legislators across the nation, Dr. Levine has the empathy to understand the health needs of our diverse country and the skill set to improve them,” David said in a statement.
“Her nomination is groundbreaking and shows the Biden administration will choose the most qualified individuals to lead our nation regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Annise Parker, chief executive of the LGBTQ Victor Institute and mayor of Houston. “Dr. Levine is making history and will transform Americans’ perceptions of trans people when she takes office and begins to work on their behalf.”