For the first time in history, a transgender person will go before the Senate to be confirmed for a presidential appointment. President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. If approved, Levine would be the first ever Senate-confirmed trans official in U.S. history. In 2015, her appointment as Pennsylvania Physician General was unanimously approved by both parties in the state Senate. “Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.”