Washington — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s preeminent infectious illness skilled who has served beneath seven presidents, mentioned Monday that he’ll step down from his submit in December to pursue the “next chapter” of his career.
“I am announcing today that I will be stepping down from the positions of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, as well as the position of Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden,” Fauci mentioned in a statement.
He emerged as a family identify firstly of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, showing at each day White House briefings to ship sober updates in regards to the lethal unfold of the coronavirus. That position often put him at odds with former President Donald Trump, who went to nice lengths to downplay the severity of the disaster, and different Republicans who closely criticized him for pushing strict mitigation measures and accused him of making an attempt to hurt Trump politically.
Fauci was largely sidelined from the federal authorities’s public messaging in regards to the pandemic by the tip of the Trump administration, however regained affect when President Biden tapped him as his chief medical adviser upon taking workplace in January 2021.
In an announcement coinciding with Fauci’s personal announcement on Monday, the president thanked Fauci for his years of authorities service, calling him a “dedicated public servant, and a steady hand with wisdom and insight honed over decades at the forefront of some of our most dangerous and challenging public health crises.”
“Because of Dr. Fauci’s many contributions to public health, lives here in the United States and around the world have been saved,” Mr. Biden mentioned. “As he leaves his position in the U.S. Government, I know the American people and the entire world will continue to benefit from Dr. Fauci’s expertise in whatever he does next.”
Fauci mentioned he’s not retiring, and as an alternative plans to “pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field.” He signaled in July that he would possible step down earlier than the following presidential election.
“My time is running out. I’m 81 years old,” Fauci mentioned in an interview with an Australian radio station. He added that, by 2024, “it is unlikely that I will still be at this job no matter who gets to be president of the United States.”Â
In the spring, Fauci mentioned he supposed to step down solely after the more serious of the pandemic had subsided.Â
“I’ve always said we’ve got to get this thing under control. I’m obviously 81 years old, at the point in my career where I’m going to have to sit down at some time,” Fauci instructed CBS News’ “Red & Blue” in April. “But I would want it to be when we get this under better control. And we may be coming to that point right now. We may be closer to that now.”