JAKARTA - President-elect of the United States (US) Joe Biden nominated a transgender Rachel Levine, the top health official in Pennsylvania, as assistant minister of health. So who is Rachel Levine?
Levine is a pediatrician who will become the US Senate's first confirmed transgender federal official. "Rachel Levine will bring the solid leadership and critical expertise we need to get people through this pandemic," Biden said in a statement.
As long as it fits his ability, Biden said he was indiscriminate to put someone in a strategic position in his government. "It doesn't matter what their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability meet the public health needs of our country in this critical situation today and beyond," said Biden.
As the top health official in Pennsylvania, Levine is well known nationwide for leading the state's public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite repeated and bad attacks on her gender identity.
Citing The Washington Post, Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Biden's transition team noted that Levine, who in 2017 was appointed acting secretary of health, had been confirmed three times by the Republican-controlled state Senate to fill the health sector post. At that time, he was one of a handful of transgender officials who served or were appointed nationally.
Form of diversityIf confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Health, Levine will become a transgender official with the highest position in the US government. He will represent the diversity that exists in the US.
"President-elect Biden said throughout his campaign that his government will represent America," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "Today, he explained that transgender people are an important part of our country."
Levine will later work under Xavier Becerra, Biden's nominee for the head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. His duties include oversight of major health offices and programs across departments, 10 regional health offices across the country, the General Office of Surgeons, and the US Corps of Public Health Services Commission.
Levine is a graduate of Harvard and Tulane Medical School. He is also the president of the Association of State and Territory Health Officials. He has also written about the opioid crisis, medical marijuana, treatment for adolescents, eating disorders and the procurement of drugs for LGBTQ people.
Biden has signaled a significant shift away from the Donald Trump administration when it comes to inclusion of the transgender community. He mentioned transgender people in his presidential acceptance speech and released a lengthy platform outlining his plans to prioritize LGBTQ rights.
As well as Levine, Biden also appointed Shawn Skelly, a former special assistant to the deputy defense minister for acquisitions, technology and logistics, to be on his transition team. Skelly is the first transgender veteran to be appointed by a US president.
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