Nameplate Shuffle at HHS Turns Rachel Levine into Richard Overnight

A decision inside the Department of 🏥Health and Human Services has triggered a political storm, after officials quietly replaced the name displayed on the portrait of a former Biden administration health leader with that individual’s birth name.

According to Fox News, the portrait belongs to Rachel Levine, who served as assistant secretary for health under President 👤Joe Biden and became the first transgender person confirmed by the Senate.

During her tenure, Levine rose to the rank of admiral within the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

For years, her official photo at HHS carried the name “Rachel Levine.”

But following the federal government shutdown, staff discovered that the plaque beneath the portrait now reads “👤Richard Levine,” the name Levine was given at birth.

HHS confirmed the change and defended it. Spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the agency is aligning internal presentations with what it calls scientific clarity.

“Our priority is ensuring that the information presented internally and externally by HHS reflects gold standard science,” Nixon said. “We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health.”