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At a historic hearing Thursday, Rachel Levine, President Joe Biden's nominee for assistant secretary of health at the Department of Health and Human Services, and the first openly transgender person nominated for federal office, told lawmakers she would fight to improve health care access for all Americans if confirmed and deflected inflammatory questions from a GOP senator who likened transgender surgery to "genital mutilation." As the HHS assistant secretary of health, Levine would oversee the nation's public health system amid the pandemic. A pediatrician, she recently led Pennsylvania's pandemic response as the state's health secretary and was the state's physician general before that. (Haslett, 2/25)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is facing criticism for his questioning of one of President Biden’s health nominees, Rachel Levine, a former state health official who would be the first openly transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate. (Hellmann, 2/25)

A culture war over transgender rights erupted on Capitol Hill on Thursday, as a Republican senator attacked President Biden’s nominee to a top health post, and two members of the House — one the mother of a transgender daughter — sparred over legislation that would extend civil rights protections to L.G.B.T.Q. people. The nominee, Dr. Rachel Levine, a former Pennsylvania health secretary and Mr. Biden’s pick to be assistant secretary of health, stands to be the first openly transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate, and her nomination has been cheered by advocates for transgender rights. (Stolberg, 2/25)

Senate Republicans are setting their sights on California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, as their next target in the battle over Biden’s Cabinet. Republicans, on the cusp of quashing Neera Tanden’s nomination to head the White House budget office, are looking for their next scalp and see Becerra as a tough vote for Democrats. (Bolton, 2/26)

Disunity among Senate Democrats is keeping President Joe Biden from finalizing his Cabinet sooner than later, while Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine hasn't signaled if she'll be the one to provide the chamber with the necessary support for confirmations. Collins, who has already voted no on Neera Tanden, the president's Office of Management and Budget nominee, told reporters this week she is undecided on Democratic Congresswoman Deb Haaland of New Mexico, Biden's nominee for Department of the Interior, as well as Xavier Becerra, the president's pick for Health and Humans Services secretary. Haaland and Becerra each testified before the Senate this week. (Fallert, 2/25)

In hearings on Xavier Becerra’s nomination to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and others brought up a case involving California, contraceptives and a group of Catholic nuns. It’s misleading to say Becerra sued the nuns. The California attorney general has not filed lawsuits or brought enforcement actions against the Little Sisters of the Poor, a charity run by Catholic nuns. (Rizzo, 2/26)

KHN: Journalists Weigh In On Biden’s HHS Pick

KHN senior correspondent Noam Levey discussed Xavier Becerra’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with KQED’s “Forum” on Tuesday. ... KHN senior correspondent JoNel Aleccia discussed the story of an organ transplant patient who died after receiving lungs infected with covid-19 on KFI’s “The Daily Dive” podcast on Wednesday. (2/26)

KHN: Biden’s Straight-Talking CDC Director Has Long Used Data To Save Lives

In early December, Dr. Katy Stephenson was watching TV with her family and scrolling through Twitter when she saw a tweet that made her shout. “I said ‘Oh, my God!'” she recalled. “Super loud. My kids jumped up. My husband looked over. He said, ‘What’s wrong, what’s wrong, is everything OK?’ I was like, ‘No, no, it’s the opposite. It’s amazing. This is amazing!'” Dr. Rochelle Walensky had just been tapped to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Goldberg, 2/26)