Pennsylvania’s health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to be his next assistant health secretary, writes Kennedy Rose for Philadelphia Business Journal.

She would be the first openly transgender official to be confirmed by the United States Senate, if approved.

Levine has taken on praise and criticism in her response to contain COVID-19 through statewide restrictions on businesses and public spaces.

She has stated that the restrictions are there to support public health and safety.

“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.”

Levine has been the state’s health secretary since appointed by Gov. Wolf in 2017. She was the state’s Physician General.

Levine is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine and president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Read more about Dr. Levine’s nomination at Philadelphia Business Journal.