Dr. Rachel Levine is the new assistant health secretary — and the first openly transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate

The Senate confirmed Dr. Rachel Levine in a 52-48 vote to be assistant secretary of health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her confirmation makes her the first openly transgender individual to be approved by the Senate as well as the highest-ranking transgender federal official. 

Levine was previously the secretary of health for Pennsylvania, where she led the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and worked on programs battling the opioid crisis, HIV and Hepatitis C and addressing LGBTQ health equity. She was also former president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) — a nonprofit that represents the public health agencies of all 50 states, U.S. territories, D.C. and the three freely associated states.  As assistant health secretary, she will serve under Secretary of Health Xavier Becerra, who was confirmed by the Senate last week, and likely play a key role in the federal government's handling of the coronavirus. She joins a cabinet that includes many other "firsts", including Becerra, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, EPA chief Michael Regan and U.S. trade envoy Katherine Tai.