President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine to be his Assistant Secretary of Health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the United States Senate.

A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania general practitioner, Levine was appointed to her current post by Democratic Governor Tom Wolf in 2017, making her one of the few transgender people to hold elected or appointed positions nationwide.

She was confirmed by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate and has become the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Rachel Levine will bring the continued leadership and essential expertise we need to help people navigate this pandemic, regardless of zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. and respond to the public health needs of our country in this critical situation. time and beyond, ”Biden said in a statement.

“She is a historic and highly qualified choice to help lead the health efforts of our administration. A Harvard and Tulane Medical School graduate, Levine is president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. She has written in the spent on the opioid crisis, medical marijuana, adolescent medicine, eating disorders and LGBTQ medicine.

Biden and his transition team have already started negotiating with members of Congress, pushing for swift passage of the President-elect’s $ 1.9 trillion plan to bring the coronavirus under control, which has killed nearly 400,000 people in the United States. .

He is looking to enlist federal emergency personnel to run mass vaccination centers and deliver 100 vaccines in the first 100 days of his administration while using government spending to boost the pandemic-battered economy, Biden said also that, in one of his first acts as president, he “I will ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days to slow the spread of the virus.”

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