The Department of Health and Human Services changed the nameplate on an official portrait of Adm. Rachel Levine, the department's former assistant secretary, replacing the legal name with a prior name.
The portrait is displayed at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington alongside those of past holders of the assistant secretary role.
NPR first reported the nameplate beneath Levine's portrait was altered to read "Richard," Levine's birth name.
An HHS spokesperson confirmed the change and said in a statement: "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."
Levine, a former admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, declined to address the change in detail, saying in a statement to having no "comment on this type of petty action."
Adrian Shanker, a former Biden administration health official and a Levine spokesperson, said the change occurred during the federal government shutdown this fall.
"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," Shanker said.
Shanker described the nameplate change as "small acts of pettiness and bigotry" and said it reflects poorly on the "level of seriousness of the current political appointees at HHS," in additional comments to The Advocate.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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