On Friday, Joe Biden formally nominated Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. Levine was previously the Secretary of Health in Pennsylvania, a tenure marked by controversy over Levine’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response, Terry Schilling, executive director of American Principles Project (APP), released the following statement:

“There are many troubling elements to Joe Biden’s recent nomination of Dr. Rachel Levine. But perhaps most alarming is Dr. Levine’s past advocacy for children with gender dysphoria to be given highly experimental ‘puberty blockers’ and ‘cross-gender hormones’ despite growing evidence that these drugs may cause more harm than good. In fact, a court in the U.K. recently blocked the country’s main gender clinic from prescribing these drugs to children ages 16 and under because of such concerns.

“Does Dr. Levine still believe children should be allowed to begin the sex-change process, despite the very real issues which are increasingly being raised? And if so, would Levine push HHS to put ideology over science on this issue, and even override the legitimate objections of doctors and parents?

“These are very real questions, and they need to be asked of someone who aspires to be one of the top healthcare administrators in our country. APP urges the Senate to take its ‘advise and consent’ role seriously and call on Dr. Levine to answer them.”

To schedule an interview with an APP policy expert, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or pdupont@americanprinciplesproject.org.