tag | Rachel Levine

Rachel Levine will give a speech in Texas on Saturday, urging physicians-in-training to fight political attacks against young trans people and their families.

Pennsylvania’s former Secretary of Health, Rachel Levine, is now one of USA Today’s Women of the Year. 

“I think this is symbolic of that commitment and for transgender youth and other transgender individuals that there are no glass ceilings and no limitation to what we can achieve.”

Though more Americans than ever oppose discrimination against transgender people, Levine is taking office at a time when trans rights have once again become a controversial political issue.

“I think people fear what they don’t understand,” says Levine, assistant secretary for health and the first openly transgender person to serve in a Senate-confirmed position.

The confirmation vote came at a challenging moment for the transgender-rights movement as legislatures across the U.S. — primarily those under Republican control — are considering an unprecedented wave of bills targeting trans young people.

The vote is a history-making one: Levine is the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate.