Sylvie Claire / Mars 26, 2021
University professor in pediatrics and psychiatry, Rachel Levine, 63, was until January the director of Health in the state of Pennsylvania, in charge of the fight against Covid-19. A position that gives her the crucial expertise we need to guide people through this pandemic, said Joe Biden in announcing her appointment in January. But some Republicans have criticized her management of the health crisis in Pennsylvania.
Rachel Levine was finally confirmed by a vote of 52 to 48 in the Senate, with only two Republican senators joining the 50 elected officials in the Democratic camp to approve her nomination. Dr. Levine becomes the first openly transgender American woman to be confirmed by the Senate, a milestone in U.S. history, tweeted a White House communications official, Matt Hill.
Associations for the defense of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people applauded this confirmation. This is a historic moment, marking an important turning point for the visibility and inclusion of transgender people, reacted Kevin Jennings, the legal director of the organization Lambda. Rachel Levine is also the highest ranking official in our government to be openly transgender, he said.
His arrival in the Biden administration marks a sharp contrast to former President Donald Trump's perceived discriminatory actions toward transgender people. During his presidential victory speech in November, Biden was the first U.S. president-elect to include transgender people in his acknowledgments