Photo: Alamy
The Department of Health and Human Services has restored former Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Rachel Levine’s birth name, Richard Levine, on an official portrait plaque, a change made during the recent federal government shutdown, according to Fox News.
Levine, a biological male who identifies as a woman, served in the Biden administration and became one of the most prominent federal officials advocating for transgender medical procedures. The updated plaque now displays the 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.
Emily Hilliard, the HHS Department’s press secretary, also released a similar statement to the Daily Mail.
“We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health,’ Hillard shared. “Dr. Levine’s time here will be looked upon as a sad footnote in the otherwise storied history of this department.”
Levine’s spokesperson, Adrian Shanker, condemned the change in comments to NPR, saying, “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,” calling the move an act “of bigotry against her.”
Levine declined to expand on the dispute. “I’m not going to comment on this type of petty action,” she said.
During Levine’s tenure at HHS, she argued that there was “no argument” over the safety and effectiveness of transgender medical interventions. Levine also supported the use of puberty blockers for minors to prevent children from “going through the wrong puberty.”
Levine, who served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health before joining the Biden administration, is now a professor at the Penn State College of Medicine. Levine was the admiral in charge of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps throughout Biden’s term.