WASHINGTON – Dr. Anthony FaucicThe government’s top infectious disease expert said on Monday he plans to retire at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January 2025.
Fauci, 81, was appointed director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1984, and has led research into HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, EbolaZika and Coronavirus. He has advised seven presidents and is Biden’s chief medical adviser.
In an interview with Politico, Fauci said he hopes to “leave behind an organization where I have picked out the best in the country, if not the world, who will continue my vision.” .
Asked Monday on CNN when he plans to retire, Fauci said he doesn’t have a specific retirement date in mind and has not yet begun the process. He said he expected to leave government before the end of Biden’s current term, which ends in January 2025.
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“When we finish Biden’s first term, I will most likely (retire),” Fauci said. He added: “it’s extremely unlikely – in fact for sure – that I won’t be here after January 2025.”
Fauci, long a well-known figure in the government’s response to infectious disease, is getting even more attention at the height of the coronavirus pandemic under President Donald Trump. As the pandemic response becomes politicized, with Trump hints pandemic will “go away”, promotes unproven treatments and vilifies scientists against him, Fauci had to receive security protection when he and his family received death threats and harassment.
Fauci has testified repeatedly before Congress about the virus, and he and several Republicans, including Senator Rand Paul in Kentucky, engaging in lively discussions about the origins of the virus.
Fauci said on Monday his decision to leave the role was unrelated to politics.
“It has nothing to do with pressure, has nothing to do with all the other nonsense you hear about, all that barbs and slings and arrows. That doesn’t affect me,” he said.
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