Prominent Republicans are accusing Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine of "grooming" children by speaking in support of gender-affirming care.
GOP Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado both lashed out at Levine on Monday over comments she made during an MSNBC interview. Levine, the first openly transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate, spoke out against bullying and "politically motivated attacks" on transgender children during the interview, while advocating in favor of health policies that are based on data rather than evidence-free rhetoric.
"Trans youth are vulnerable and they suffer significant harassment and bullying, sometimes in schools or in their community," Levine said. "Now they're suffering politically motivated attacks through state actions against these vulnerable transgender youth. This is not based upon data, these actions are politically motivated."
"We really want to base our treatment ... to affirm and support and empower these youth, not to limit their participation in activities and sports and even limit their ability to get gender affirmation treatment in their state," she added. "All it takes is one supportive adult to make all the difference for an LGBTQI+ youth, transgender youth, in terms of their risk of depression and suicide."
Boebert took issue with Levine arguing that the use of evidence-based treatment would "empower" transgender youth. The Colorado Republican insisted that Levine—who she referred to using her birth name, something that many in the transgender community refer to as "deadnaming"—was "grooming" children to "become transgender" instead.
"The Assistant Secretary for Health is out here trying to 'empower' children to become transgender," Boebert tweeted. "The word is 'groom', [Rachel], not empower. You're grooming them, not empowering them."
Greene also misgendered and deadnamed Levine, while suggesting that she was "pushing" children to undergo the "weenie chop" and speculating on Levine's surgical history.
"We must do everything we can to prevent Dr. [Rachel] Levine's pre-teen #WeenieChop," Greene tweeted.
"Now that I think about it. As Dr. [Rachel] Levine advocates for 'gender affirming care' for minors, has [she] undergone the #WeenieChop [her]self?" Greene added. Or is [she] just pushing this on children?"
Medical guidelines in the U.S. generally do not recommend gender-affirming genital surgeries for those under the age of 18, although reversible puberty-blocking treatments are sometimes prescribed for those diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
Greene's tweets had been labeled with a note pointing out that they "violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct" as of Monday afternoon but remained online. Twitter said that the tweets remaining online despite violating the policy "may be in the public's interest."
"The Tweets you referenced violated the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to Newsweek after being asked about the tweets from Greene and Boebert. "However, we've determined that it may be in the public's interest for them to remain accessible. The Tweets have been labeled in line with our policies, including restrictions on how people can engage with the Tweets."
Given that similar tweets have been deleted by Twitter or led to suspended accounts for other users, the company's reason for determining that Greene's tweets could be "in the public's interest" was unclear. Boebert's tweet also remained online, and unlabeled, as of Monday afternoon.
Both of the congresswomen's tweets on Levine appear to be clear violations of Twitter policies against "misgendering and deadnaming." The tweets also appear to violate policies against "using slurs and harmful tropes" and "spreading fear" about a person "because of their identity."
Newsweek has reached out to Levine's office for comment.
Update 7/18/22, 9:03 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
