# Roger Severino

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**Roger Thomas Severino** (born 1974/1975)[1] is an American attorney who served as the director of the [Office of Civil Rights](/source/Office_for_Civil_Rights) (OCR) at the [United States Department of Health and Human Services](/source/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services) from 2017 to 2021. He is currently a senior fellow at the [Ethics and Public Policy Center](/source/Ethics_and_Public_Policy_Center) and a contributor on health policy, including abortion, to [Project 2025](/source/Project_2025).[2]

## Early life and education

Severino, the son of immigrants from [Colombia](/source/Colombia), was raised in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles).[3][4] He received a [bachelor's degree](/source/Bachelor's_degree) in business from [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California), a [Master of Public Administration](/source/Master_of_Public_Administration) from [Carnegie Mellon University](/source/Carnegie_Mellon_University), and a [Juris Doctor](/source/Juris_Doctor) from [Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School).[5]

## Career

From 2008 to 2015, Severino was a [trial attorney](/source/Trial_attorney) in the [United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division](/source/United_States_Department_of_Justice_Civil_Rights_Division). Severino was also previously CEO and counsel for the [Becket Fund for Religious Liberty](/source/Becket_Fund_for_Religious_Liberty), a nonprofit law firm taking on cases related to freedom of religion. In 2015, Severino joined [The Heritage Foundation](/source/The_Heritage_Foundation), a conservative think tank geared towards public policy. There, he served as the director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at [The Heritage Foundation](/source/The_Heritage_Foundation).[5] Severino has written several opinion columns for *[The Daily Signal](/source/The_Daily_Signal)*. Severino has also written for *Public Discourse: Ethics, Law, and the Common Good,* a journal published by the [Witherspoon Institute](/source/Witherspoon_Institute), a conservative think-tank.[6]

In 2023, Severino contributed abortion policies to the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a plan prepared for an incoming Republican president.[7]

### Department of Health and Human Services

In March 2017, President [Donald Trump](/source/Donald_Trump) appointed Severino as Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the [United States Department of Health and Human Services](/source/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services).[8][9][10] He left the position on January 15, 2021.[11]

A [social conservative](/source/Social_conservatism) and devout [Catholic](/source/Catholicism), Severino has often been criticized for being anti-[LGBT](/source/LGBT).[8][9] The [Human Rights Campaign](/source/Human_Rights_Campaign) has described Severino as a "radical anti-LGBTQ activist."[12] In 2018, Severino called the [Obama administration](/source/Obama_administration)'s expansion of [sex](/source/Sex) to include [gender identity](/source/Gender_identity) "radical [gender ideology](/source/Anti-gender_movement)."[13] In an op-ed co-written by former U.S. Senator [Jim DeMint](/source/Jim_DeMint), Severino said that "transgender rights supporters see sex as 'merely a placeholder' assigned at birth."[14]

As director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, Severino removed nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people established in the [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act](/source/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act). Removing the provision allowed healthcare providers to deny care based on a patient's sexuality or gender identity.[15][16]

In July 2020, Trump nominated Severino for a three-year position on the Council of the [Administrative Conference of the United States](/source/Administrative_Conference_of_the_United_States).[17] Severino was commissioned in January 2021, in the final days of Trump's presidency, and in February, filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the Biden administration offered him an ultimatum to resign or be terminated.[18][19]

## Personal life

Since 2004 Severino has been married to [Carrie Severino](/source/Carrie_Severino) (née Campbell), an attorney and activist who leads the [Judicial Crisis Network](/source/Judicial_Crisis_Network).[9][10][20]

## See also

- [Catholic theology of sexuality](/source/Catholic_theology_of_sexuality)

## References

1. ["With Barrett Nomination, a D.C. Conservative Power Couple Nears Its Dream (Published 2020)"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/15/us/politics/severinos-amy-coney-barrett.html). 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2023-08-10.

1. ["Department of Health and Human Services"](https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_CHAPTER-14.pdf)

1. ["Civil Rights Chief At HHS Defends The Right To Refuse Care On Religious Grounds"](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/03/20/591833000/civil-rights-chief-at-hhs-defends-the-right-to-refuse-care-on-religious-grounds). *NPR.org*. March 20, 2018.

1. Leonard, Kimberly (September 26, 2019). ["'It should be treated just like every other civil right': Top Trump health official looks to enshrine religious liberty"](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/it-should-be-treated-just-like-every-other-civil-right-top-trump-health-official-looks-to-enshrine-religious-liberty). *[Washington Examiner](/source/Washington_Examiner)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190926215016/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/it-should-be-treated-just-like-every-other-civil-right-top-trump-health-official-looks-to-enshrine-religious-liberty) September 26, 2019 at the Wayback Machine.

1. ["OCR Leadership"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151221015805/http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/leadership/index.html). *U.S. Department of Health and Human Services*. Archived from [the original](https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/leadership/index.html) on December 21, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

1. ["Roger Severino"](https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/author/roger-severino/). *Public Discourse*. Retrieved 2020-06-13.

1. Miranda Ollstein, Alice (January 29, 2024). ["The anti-abortion plan ready for Trump on Day One"](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/29/trump-abortion-ban-2024-campaign-00138417). *Politico*

1. Brinlee, Morgan (March 27, 2017). ["Who Is Roger Severino? Donald Trump's New Appointment Sparks Concern Among LGBTQ Activists"](https://www.bustle.com/p/who-is-roger-severino-donald-trumps-new-appointment-sparks-concern-among-lgbtq-activists-47046). *[Bustle.com](/source/Bustle.com)*. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

1. Green, Emma (June 7, 2017). ["The Man Behind Trump's Religious-Freedom Agenda for Health Care"](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/the-man-behind-trumps-religious-freedom-agenda-for-health-care/528912/). *The Atlantic*. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

1. Diamond, Dan (January 22, 2018). ["The religious activists on the rise inside Trump's health department"](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/22/trump-religious-activists-hhs-351735). *[Politico](/source/Politico)*

1. ["OCR Director Roger Severino Concludes His Appointment"](https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/newsroom/index.html). *[hhs.gov](/source/Hhs.gov)*. [United States Department of Health and Human Services](/source/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services). 17 September 2015. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210120133409/https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/newsroom/director-severino-concludes-appointment.html) 2021-01-20 at the Wayback Machine.

1. McBride, Brian (March 24, 2017). ["Trump Appoints Radical Anti-LGBTQ Activist to Lead HHS Civil Rights Office"](https://www.hrc.org/news/trump-appoints-radical-anti-lgbtq-activist-to-lead-hhs-civil-rights-office). *Human Rights Campaign*. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

1. Green, Erica L.; Benner, Katie; Pear, Robert (2018-10-21). ["'Transgender' Could Be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump Administration"](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/21/us/politics/transgender-trump-administration-sex-definition.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2020-06-13.

1. ["Roger Severino | GLAAD"](https://www.glaad.org/tap/roger-severino?response_type=embed). *www.glaad.org*. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 2020-06-13.

1. Simmons-Duffin, Selena (June 12, 2020). ["Transgender Health Protections Reversed By Trump Administration"](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/12/868073068/transgender-health-protections-reversed-by-trump-administration). *NPR News*. Retrieved June 12, 2020.

1. Sanger-Katz, Margot & Weiland, Noah (2020-06-12). ["Trump Administration Erases Transgender Civil Rights Protections in Health Care"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/us/politics/trump-transgender-rights.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2020-06-13.

1. Seidman, Harry M. (July 24, 2020). ["President Trump Appoints Three New Members to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States"](https://www.acus.gov/newsroom/news/president-trump-appoints-three-new-members-council-administrative-conference-united). *www.acus.gov*. [Administrative Conference of the United States](/source/Administrative_Conference_of_the_United_States)

1. Choi, Matthew (February 3, 2021). ["Trump appointee sues Biden over alleged ouster from advisory board"](https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/03/trump-appointee-biden-advisory-board-465732). *[Politico](/source/Politico)*

1. Holmes, Kristen; Subramaniam, Tara; Stark, Liz (February 6, 2021). ["Biden administration works to clean house of Trump appointees"](https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/06/politics/biden-removing-trump-board-appointments/index.html). *[cnn.com](/source/Cnn.com)*

1. Williamson, Elizabeth (October 15, 2020). ["With Barrett Nomination, a D.C. Conservative Power Couple Nears Its Dream"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/15/us/politics/severinos-amy-coney-barrett.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roger Severino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Severino) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Severino?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.