Regarding Rachel Levine's failure to answer the question: my guess is that she may have been hyperparanoid about potentially saying anything that could be construed as "politically incorrect." And, if that is indeed the case: given all of the authoritarian speech-policing these days, it wouldn't be all that unfounded of a fear for her to have.

More broadly speaking: my thoughts, on some of the issues you've raised, speaking as a gay and cisgender male person....

Gender reassignment surgery is serious, and it's rarely (if ever) done lightly in practice (based on the limited amount that I know about it). Age of the patient and parental consent restrictions need to be based on scientific and medical evidence, related to the patient's well-being. It should be medical experts in transgender health who are taking the lead on these matters...not elected officials.

Regarding bathroom and locker room privacy: as far as the fear over predatory cisgender heterosexual men using the pretext of (pretending to have) a transgender identity...how often does this actually happen? Have predators been known to "disguise" their gender identities for the sole purpose of gaining access to people whom they seek as their sexual targets? And, certainly when it comes to K-12 spaces: I think the matter of comfort level for all students involved (especially pre-teens in early stages of body development) is a valid conversation to have. There are admittedly no easy answers.

Regarding transgender athletes: I'm not a sports fan, and I have very little knowledge of athletics in general. I'm going to defer to the broad range of voices within the industries of sports and public education.

I have a lot more to learn about the struggles faced by members of the transgender community, but my desire is to foster understanding and create solutions.