The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has altered the official portrait of Adm. Rachel Levine, the out transgender former assistant secretary for health under President Joe Biden, to display Levines deadname a needless act of transphobia that Levine has called petty. Her portrait hangs in the HHS office alongside those of other federal officials who have led the U.S. Public Health Corps.During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levines photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name, Levines spokesperson Adrian Shanker, former deputy assistant secretary for health policy under Biden, told NPR. Shanker called the move an unprecedented act of bigotry against her. Though Levine said, Im not going to comment on this type of petty action. Related Adm. Rachel Levine is optimistic about the future of trans Americans. Im not convinced. When asked about the alteration, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told the aforementioned news outlet, Our priority is ensuring that the information presented internally and externally by HHS reflects gold standard science. We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health.An anonymous HHS staffer told NPR that they considered the change disrespectful, adding that it exemplifies the erasure of transgender individuals by this administration. Upon taking office, the president issued numerous executive orders denying all federal recognition of trans people and kicking trans people out of the military for being selfish, dishonorable, deceitful, and undisciplined. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Levine was the first out trans person to receive Senate confirmation. On October 19, 2021, became the first out transfour-star officerin the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a noncombatant service of the nationseight uniformed services which promotes public health and safety. She resigned on the current presidents first day in office.The current assistant secretary for health is Adm. Brian Christine, MD, who was appointed in November.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.