On Monday (July 18), President Joe Biden’s Chief Medical Adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, confirmed he would be stepping down at the end of Biden’s term.
Plans about Fauci’s departure were first reported by POLITICO. The Chief Medical Advisor confirmed these plans to the Washington Post.
“By the time we get to the end of the Biden administration term, I feel it would be time for me to step down from this position,” Fauci told the outlet.
He added that he wouldn’t be waiting for COVID to be over before retiring, telling POLITICO, “We’re in a pattern now. If somebody says, ‘You’ll leave when we don’t have COVID anymore,’ then I will be 105.”
The 81-year-old continued, “I think we’re going to be living with this.”
Fauci also expressed that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which he heads up, has “the best people in the country” to continue his vision.
When questioned whether the possibility of the GOP taking control of Congress —and the potential attacks on the horizon — was a factor in his decision-making process, Fauci denied it.
However, in an appearance on CNN, following reports that he would be announcing his retirement, Fauci — who worked at the NIAID since 1984 — clarified his initial statement.
The director of the NIAID said that when he had the interview with POLITICO, he acknowledged that he couldn’t stay in his current role forever and that he would step down sometime before January 2025.
“What happened is that I gave an interview with a reporter, and they said, ‘You know, you’re going to have to step down some time. You can’t be in this job forever.’ I said, ‘You’re absolutely right, I can’t be in this job forever.’ And I don’t anticipate I’ll be in this job at the end of the first term of President Biden, which is January 2025,” Fauci revealed.
