The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump administration has updated the official portrait of former Biden administration assistant secretary for health, Admiral Richard “Rachel” Levine, changing the displayed name from Rachel to his birth name, Richard.
The adjustment, which occurred during the federal government shutdown, has sparked public and political reactions.
Adrian Shanker, a spokesperson for Levine and former deputy assistant secretary for health policy under the Biden administration, criticized the change as “small acts of pettiness and bigotry.”
Speaking to NPR, Shanker argued that the update reflected poorly on current HHS leadership.
“During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levine’s photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name,” he said.
Levine, who transitioned in 2011 while in his 40s, served as both assistant secretary for health and a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service.
During his tenure, he used female pronouns and promoted policies regarding “trans” interventions, particularly for minors.
Portraits in the Humphrey Building displayed Levine’s legal female name at the time, according to the National Women’s History Museum, per The Daily Caller.
HHS officials under the Trump administration defended the update as an effort to align official materials with what they termed “biological reality.”
Andrew Nixon, HHS spokesperson, told NPR that the department remained “committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health.”
The update is part of broader efforts to ensure internal and external communications reflect evidence-based health information.
Levine’s tenure was marked by advocacy for interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-related surgeries for minors, measures that critics have linked to long-term physical and psychological risks.
Following the Biden administration, several medical institutions, including the University of Michigan, Yale Medicine, Kaiser Permanente and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, have either reduced or restricted such treatments for minors, LifeSite News reports.
The portrait change has drawn political attention, with Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) posting a video on X condemning the move as part of an ongoing “culture war.”
“Admiral Levine was the highest-ranking trans woman in the Biden administration,” Balint said. “They have gone back to remove her name and put her dead name in. All because they are so insecure about their own identities that they have to lash out and continue to fan the flames of these culture wars.”
HHS leadership defended the decision, emphasizing the importance of scientific accuracy.
Current assistant secretary for health, Admiral Brian Christine, serving under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has focused on restoring public trust and increasing transparency in health communications.
Shanker noted that Levine declined to comment directly on the change but maintained that it did not diminish Levine’s record.
“During her entire time as assistant secretary for health and admiral of the United States Public Health Service, Admiral Levine was a dedicated public health servant,” he said.
This update follows similar actions in other federal offices, including modifications to portraits in the White House’s “Presidential Wall of Fame,” reflecting a broader effort to revise records from the previous administration.
