Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine made history Wednesday when she became the first transgender federal official to be confirmed by the senate

Levine will be nation’s assistant secretary of health and is expected to Health and Human Services programs across the country.

We at The Daily Eastern News believe that this is a historic event to be sure, but it is also very important.

At a time when trans rights seem to be under attack from politicians and legislation is being proposed across the country that will target trans people, especially young ones, it is vitally important that there is someone in a top position in the federal government that truly understands these issues and how important they are.

A majority of states have had bills introduced that seek to ban young trans women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. Banning women from participating in women’s sports does not make sense and these bills only exist to make trans people feel excluded and unwelcome.

Other people want to ban hormone treatment and puberty blockers for minors. Levine has supported such treatments in the past and said that they can be valuable from preventing mental health issues and suicide among trans youth.

Having Levine in a high-level position can potentially be a turning point in the fight for trans rights in the U.S.