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The Department of Health and Human Services has altered the official portrait of a transgender former Biden administration official to display the individual’s birth name, rather than adopted name.
The former official, who currently goes by Rachel Levine, achieved the rank of admiral and served in President Joe Biden‘s administration as an assistant secretary for health. Levine was born a male and was the first transgender person to secure a Senate confirmation.
Up until the government shutdown this year, Levine’s portrait plaque in the HHS offices featured the name “Rachel Levine,” but it now displays the official’s birth name, “Richard Levine.”
“Our priority is ensuring that the information presented internally and externally by HHS reflects gold standard science. We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement.
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Former HHS official Rachel Levine speaks on stage during the “Takling the Youth Mental-Health Crisis” Panel for The Atlantic Festival 2024 on September 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for The Atlantic)
Levine responded to the move both personally and through a spokesman in statements to NPR.
“During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levine’s photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name,” Adrian Shanker, a spokesman for Levine, told NPR, going on to describe the move as an act “of bigotry against her.”
Levine was the first transgender person to receive a Senate confirmation. ( TOM BRENNER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“I’m not going to comment on this type of petty action,” Levine told the outlet.
Levine was a steady source of controversy during the Biden administration, claiming that there was “no argument” regarding effectiveness and safety of transgender medical procedures, and claiming that hormone blockers ought to be used to stop children from “going through the wrong puberty.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has rolled back many of the pro-transgender programs implemented under former President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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“Gender-affirming care is medical care,” Levine said in 2023. “Gender-affirming care is mental health care. Gender-affirming care is literally suicide prevention care.”
