U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has nominated a transgender (transgender) medical practitioner Rachel Levin (64), Pennsylvania Minister of Health, as Assistant Secretary of State for the Federal Ministry of Health and Welfare. When nominee Levin passes a Senate hearing, he becomes the first transgender federal high-ranking official to disclose his identity in the history of the United States.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levin is holding a press conference last May by Pennsylvania Secretary of Health at the headquarters of the State Disaster Management Agency (PEMA). The next administration, Joe Biden, nominated Dr. Levin as Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. [AP=연합뉴스]
– Biden-elect said in a statement posted on the subsidiary’s homepage that day, “Dr. Levin will bring you the stable leadership and expertise necessary for this pandemic, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.” He added, “A historic and in-depth choice to lead our administration’s health efforts.”
“Dr. Levin is a remarkable talent with the knowledge and experience necessary to cope with this Corona 19 pandemic,” said Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. “Biden-elect and I will work with him to face the unprecedented challenges we face. I am looking forward to it.” The Biden Transition Committee introduced that “Levin has passed Senate approval three times in Republican-controlled Pennsylvania.”
Dr. Levin, a former pediatrician and psychiatrist at Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine, has been serving as Pennsylvania’s Health Minister since 2017. At the same time, he leads the Association of State and Regional Health Authorities (ASTHO) representing state public health agencies across the country.
According to the Washington Post (WP), he was known to have revealed his gender identity nine years ago. Although he led the state government’s response to public health amid the Corona 19 outbreak, he was attacked by some public because he was a transgender.
The Biden administration, which will be launched on the 20th, is considered to be the most diverse in the history of the United States in terms of race and gender, unlike the Donald Trump administration, which was all white. Previously, the Biden Transition Committee drew attention by appointing African American Lloyd Austin as the defense secretary, Latino Javier Bessera, California Justice Minister for the Minister of Health and Welfare, and Aboriginal Dev Harund as the Interior Minister.
Reporter Lee Min-jung [email protected]
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