The transgender HHS official who served under former President Joe Biden has had their birth name restored on a portrait nameplate.
Rather than remove the portrait entirely, the Trump administration decided to revert Dr. Rachel Levine’s name back to “Richard,” which critics were quick to call “deadnaming.”
“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 HHS spokesperson told NPR, justifying the move.
It didn’t take long for leftists to decry the move, with California State Senator Scott Weiner vowing to “change it back when we tear down Trump’s ballroom & remove his birthday as a park holiday.”
Admiral Rachel Levine served as a top health official — first ever Senate-confirmed trans person.
The bullies running our country just changed her official portrait to her dead name.
We’ll change it back when we tear down Trump’s ballroom & remove his birthday as a park holiday pic.twitter.com/CdVjGgCMI2
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) December 7, 2025
Trump officials are so insecure they even erased Admiral Rachel Levine’s name from her own HHS portrait.
Instead of honoring a patriot who is serving this country, they’re busy stoking bigotry, while the rest of America pays the price. pic.twitter.com/j8um8bS3g5
— Rep. Becca Balint (@RepBeccaB) December 8, 2025
HHS has altered the official portrait of former Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine to reflect not her legal name, but her deadname in another attempt to erase LGBTQ folks.
Meanwhile this man, who says “You belong, you belong, you belong” to the LGBTQ community had one bad debate. https://t.co/u8t9oI45YV
— Allison Floyd (@AllisonRFloyd) December 6, 2025
Others reacted to the situation a bit differently:
He is a man..and his name is… pic.twitter.com/TPIZ3cvytX
— Aja ♀️🇬🇧 (@AjaTheEmpress) December 8, 2025
lol imagine being a grown man who uses phrases like “dead name” seriously
— Corinne Clark Barron (@corinnec) December 8, 2025
It’s a man mocking me…a woman…not going, you retard!
— ✝️🇺🇸 ULTRA Lady Inspector7 🇺🇸✝️ 🇮🇱 (@SMHatLibs) December 8, 2025
Wait, so you’ll counter something you hate with more hate?
Sounds mature. Is that what Richard would want?
— AJH – Question Everything (@1_2_question) December 7, 2025
— 🇺🇸OldGuy_54 (@Oldguy_54) December 9, 2025
Good. We need to live in reality. The reality is that Richard fathered children. He is somone‘s dad.
— Choose Life (@CaitieCat1877) December 9, 2025
That’s a dude.
— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) December 7, 2025
Tear down a part of the White House? Wow… weren’t you morons just whining about that a few weeks ago?
DEI Don’t….Elect….Idiots— Steve McLaughlin (@SteveMcNY) December 8, 2025
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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