Sen. Bob Casey has largely avoided taking a public stance on the most controversial aspects of the debate over transgender issues. But the Pennsylvania Democrat was more forthcoming in a questionnaire seeking the endorsement of an LGBT group earlier this year, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
In a questionnaire to the Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Casey praised the "deep qualifications" of Rachel Levine, the transgender federal health official and Public Health Service Commissioned Corps admiral who advocates for expanding "gender-affirming care"—puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and other treatments—to children. Casey touted his support from the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), an advocacy group that advises schools to hide students' gender identity from parents.
And Casey, whose campaign gave $300 to the Steel City Stonewall Democrats in January and who ultimately secured the group's endorsement, backed "allowing transgender boys and girls to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity," another way of saying he approves of biological males being allowed to compete against girls.
Those views could prove a political liability for Casey in his contentious battleground election. Casey is running against Republican Dave McCormick in the closest political race of his 17-year career in the Senate. According to a Washington Post poll last year, 68 percent of adults oppose puberty blockers for children between 10 and 14 years old, and 58 percent oppose hormonal treatments for children between 15 and 17. More than 60 percent oppose letting biological males compete against females in sports at any level.
Casey told GLSEN that he testified on behalf of Levine, formerly Pennsylvania's health secretary, at a Senate confirmation hearing in 2021 and spoke of Levine's "deep qualifications" for assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. Since taking office, Levine has emerged as the face of the Biden-Harris administration's push to provide controversial medical treatments to children who identify as transgender. Levine supports the use of "puberty blockers," medications that halt the puberty process in children, and has endorsed the use of cross-sex hormone therapies for children, calling the therapies "suicide prevention care."
Levine was already a controversial figure in Pennsylvania when Casey testified at the confirmation hearing. As the head of the state's health department, Levine in March 2020 directed nursing homes to admit patients even if they tested positive for coronavirus. That directive didn't apply to Levine's 95-year-old mother, though: The then-health secretary moved her from a long-term care facility to a hotel.
A lawsuit last month revealed perhaps Levine's most controversial position. Levine pressured the World Professional Association for Transgender Health to remove age minimums for transgender treatments, including surgeries, from its standards of care.
Casey bragged to Steel City Stonewall Democrats of his support for other controversial issues, saying he "has rebuffed Republican efforts to prohibit gender affirming care."
He noted his opposition to a GOP amendment that would have stripped federal funding for schools that allow biological males to compete against biological girls in sports. That funding has become a hot-button issue across the country, especially in Pennsylvania, where transgender swimmer Lia Thomas touched off the controversy several years ago. Thomas, who was born male, identifies as female and competed against women at Penn State.
Casey noted he has received GLSEN's support for his "ongoing efforts to fight for full equality."
GLSEN has courted controversy over its recommendation that teachers and school administrators keep parents in the dark about children's gender transitions.
"Notification of parent(s)/guardian(s), staff, and peers about the student's name, pronoun and/or gender marker change will be guided by the student," GLSEN recommends. It also says that school employees should "collect information about all students' affirmed names and pronouns at regular intervals" over the school year, including which "name/pronouns students would like to be used when there is communication with parent(s) and/or guardian(s)."
Casey has not weighed in on the use of sex-change surgeries, puberty blockers, or hormones for children. But he has requested hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds for LGBT groups that recommend sex-change surgeries for children.
In May, the Pennsylvania senator requested $565,000 in earmarks for the LGBT Center of Greater Reading, which makes referrals for transgender surgeries, including for minors, the Free Beacon reported. He touted a $400,000 grant he secured this year for the Mazzoni Center, which also refers children for transgender operations.
Casey's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.