President Joe Biden nominated Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender Pennsylvania Health Secretary, to be his assistant secretary of health yesterday, according to several news outlets. If approved Levine will become the first openly transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate.

"A deeply experienced public servant and public health expert, she is poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate," announced a tweet from the official White House Twitter account.

"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.

The nomination is a huge step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in America and a continuation of the promise President Biden made to have a diverse Cabinet. Levine will join Secretary of Transportation nominee Pete Buttigieg, who became the first openly gay nominee for a Senate-confirmed position, as the firsts in the LGBTQ+ community to be nominated for Senate-confirmed postions. She will also become the fourth Tulane alumnus nominated for a position within the Biden-Harris administration.

Levine, who "has emerged as the public face of the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic," according to AP , will assume her role as the U.S. has already surpassed 400,000 Covid-19 deaths.

"Rachel Levine's nomination represents a long sought-after leap in political representation for the embattled trans community," read a Pink News article. "And a tremendous turning point in a country that has witnessed the Trump's administration years-long attacks against LGBT+ rights as well as surging rates of transphobic violence."

Kyle Knight, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, pointed out an article by InterAct a group that advocates for intersex youth.