Assistant Health Secretary Is First Transgender Four-Star Officer

Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine made history Tuesday by becoming the first openly transgender four-star officer in America’s eight uniformed services.

Levine, 63, was ceremonially sworn in as an admiral in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced. . .

President Biden nominated Levine as assistant secretary for health in February of this year and [he] was narrowly confirmed by the Senate the following month. [He] is the first transgender person to hold an office that requires Senate confirmation.

Levine had previously spent three-and-a-half years as Pennsylvania’s health secretary, where [he] oversaw the Keystone State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During [his] confirmation process, Levine was criticized by some Republicans for being in charge when her department ordered COVID-19 patients to be readmitted to nursing homes — similar to the scandal that enveloped the administration of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (Read more from “Assistant Health Secretary Is First Transgender Four-Star Officer” HERE)

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/governortomwolf/49652680833

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