The Senate vote, 52-48, followed a contentious confirmation hearing that became a flash point in the battle over transgender rights. Levine, a paediatrician and former health secretary in Pennsylvania, will assume her post at the federal Health and Human Services Department at a challenging time, just as Biden is trying to lead the country out of the coronavirus crisis.
In a statement shared with The New York Times, Levine said she was “humbled” by the Senate’s approval and thanked the LGBTQ community for its support.
“As Vice President Harris has said, I recognise that I may be the first, but am heartened by the knowledge that I will not be the last,” she wrote. “When I assume this position, I will stand on the shoulders of those who came before — people we know throughout history and those whose names we will never know because they were forced to live and work in the shadows.”
She said she wanted to address transgender youth in particular.
“I know that each and every day you confront many difficult challenges,” she wrote. “Sadly, some of the challenges you face are from people who would seek to use your identity and circumstance as a weapon. It hurts. I know. I cannot promise you that these attacks will immediately cease, but I will do everything I can to support you and advocate for you.”
Two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, crossed party lines to vote for Levine.
At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health Committee, Levine was the subject of a tirade by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, who likened sex reassignment surgery to “genital mutilation” and demanded to know whether she supported such procedures for minors.
Her response — that transgender medicine is “a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care” — drew plaudits from Democrats who praised her for maintaining her calm, but criticism from conservatives who accused her of being evasive.
In a recent interview, Roger Severino, a champion of social conservative causes who ran the Health and Human Services Department’s civil rights office under former President Donald Trump and met with Levine when considering whether to roll back transgender protections, called her a “divisive pick that goes contrary to President Biden’s promise of unity.”
But advocates for the transgender community were elated Wednesday.
“At a time when hateful politicians are weaponising trans lives for their own perceived political gain, Dr. Levine’s confirmation lends focus to the contributions trans people make to our nation and deflates absurd arguments calling for their exclusion,” said Annise Parker, a former mayor of Houston who now runs the LGBTQ Victory Institute, which trains LGBTQ people to run for public office.
© 2021 New York Times News Service