Joe Biden has nominated Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to serve as his assistant secretary of health in the Department of Health and Human Services, POLITICO reports.
As such, she is set to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the US Senate.
A qualified pediatrician, Levine is currently the Secretary of Health in Pennsylvania. She was selected for the role by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017.
Levine had previously won confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate and has become the public face of Pennsylvania's public health response amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Biden said in a statement:
"Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond.
"She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts."
Levine graduated from Harvard and of Tulane Medical School and is president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
She has previously written about medical marijuana, the opioid crisis, eating disorders, and adolescent and LGBTQ+ medicine.
Biden and his transition team have reportedly started their negotiations with members of Congress for a swift passage of his $1.9 trillion plan to bring Covid-19 under control.
The plan entails mass vaccination centers being set up by federal emergency personnel, the provision of 100m immunization shots in 100 days as well as measures to stimulate the economy, which has been compromised by the ongoing pandemic.
Biden also reportedly said he plans to request that American citizens wear masks for 100 days to slow the spread of the virus.
Levine will be joining Biden's Health and Human Services secretary nominee Xavier Becerra.
Jeff Zients is set to be Biden's coronavirus response coordinator, the President-elect selected infectious-disease specialist Rochelle Walensky to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Vivek Murthy as surgeon general.
The government's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, will also be working closely with the Biden administration when he begins his term tomorrow (January 20).
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