Posted For: Rotorblade
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated the name displayed on the official portrait of Rachel Levine.
Levine, who served as assistant secretary for health in the Biden administration and is a transgender woman, has had her portrait hanging in an HHS hallway since her 2021 confirmation. NPR reported that the name plate on the portrait was recently changed to “Richard Levine,” a change the agency confirmed.
Adrian Shanker, a former deputy assistant secretary for health policy in the Biden administration and a representative for Levine and her spokesperson, criticized the decision, calling it an act of discrimination. “During the federal shutdown, current leadership at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health replaced Admiral Levine’s legal name with a prior name,” Shanker said. Levine told NPR she was honored to have served and declined to comment further on what she described as “petty action.”
HHS just updated Rachel Levine’s official portrait to his real biological name: Richard
An HHS spokesperson said: “We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health.” pic.twitter.com/WqAINg1nX9
— Nicolas Hulscher, MPH (@NicHulscher) December 6, 2025
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the name change was intended to reflect what he described as the agency’s commitment to scientific accuracy. “Our priority is ensuring that information presented by HHS reflects gold-standard science,” Nixon said. “We remain committed to reversing policies enacted during Levine’s tenure and ensuring that biological reality informs our approach to public health.”
Admiral “Rachel” Levine: “Climate change is having a disproportionate effect on black communities.”
I wish this was satire. It’s real. pic.twitter.com/Y9rNhnIcdP
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 16, 2024
During her time in office, Levine supported policies related to gender-affirming care for minors and other public health initiatives. Last year, she issued a statement highlighting the impact of climate change on the health of Black communities, saying that climate-related conditions disproportionately affect these populations and are intensified by existing environmental and housing disparities.