The Trump administration has reversed a previous designation on a portrait of former Health and Human Services assistant secretary Richard Levine, restoring his birth name after the Biden administration designated him as Rachel Levine.
Until the federal shutdown ended, the HHS portrait identified the individual as “Rachel.” An HHS spokesperson stated that the change was necessary to align with scientific standards: “Our priority is ensuring that the information presented internally and externally by HHS reflects gold standard science. We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health.”
A spokesman for Levine, Adrian Shanker—a former deputy assistant secretary for health policy in the Biden administration who worked with Levine—described the name change as an act of “bigotry against her.” He noted that during the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health had changed the photo to remove his legal name and use a prior name.
The individual was appointed by President Biden to a senior role in HHS (designated as an admiral) and previously advocated policies including the use of puberty blockers for children. In 2017, he stated that blocking puberty could prevent individuals from going through physical changes associated with puberty that do not align with their gender identity.
The administration has issued two executive orders targeting transgender issues: one on January 20 defining sex as immutable biological classification and another on February 5 restricting participation in women’s sports by men.
Additional appointments by the Biden administration that drew criticism included Sam Brinton, a former assistant involved in nuclear waste management who later resigned after being caught stealing luggage at airports.
