The ugly attack on a fellow lawmaker’s child came after Ms. Newman posted video of herself putting up a transgender pride flag outside her office on Capitol Hill so Ms. Greene, her office neighbor, would have to “look at it every time she opens her door.” In response, Ms. Greene put up a poster of her own in the hallway outside that bore the phrase: “There are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE.”
Also on Thursday, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, weighed in, lashing out at Mr. Paul and Ms. Taylor Greene — though not by name — during a news conference with Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California in support of the equality bill.
“Their attacks on trans people and the transgender community are just mean, mean and show a complete lack of understanding, a complete lack of empathy,” Mr. Schumer said, adding, “Their despicable comments just make my blood boil with anger. If I didn’t have a mask, you could see my teeth gritting.”
Since Mr. Biden nominated her, Dr. Levine has been subject to attacks on social media and from conservative news outlets that have asserted, without evidence, that she has advocated gender reassignment surgery for minors, which is generally not done in the United States.
Dr. Levine, a pediatrician who previously focused on eating disorders and adolescent mental health, was also the liaison for the L.G.B.T.Q. community for the Office of Diversity at the Penn State College of Medicine.
Her detractors have seized on a 2017 speech she gave describing hormone therapy as a standard of care for transgender youth, and also on a tweet she posted in January 2020 about a study showing that transgender youth with access to puberty blocking drugs are at decreased risk of suicide.
“This study is important because it’s the first to show this specific association,” Dr. Levine wrote.
Catie Edmondson contributed reporting.
