Is Dr. Anthony Fauci’s time as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) coming to an end soon? In a new interview, the embattled architect of our nation’s response to the COVID pandemic said he’s considering stepping down.
“I certainly am,” Fauci, who has been serving in the same position since 1984, said on ABC News’ Start Here podcast released Friday.
“You always said you were going to see this through. Right? Pandemic happens, ‘I’m going to see this through.’ It’s been two years now. … Are you thinking about scaling back your responsibilities here at some point?” host Brad Mielke asked Fauci.
“Well, I have said that I would stay in what I’m doing until we get out of the pandemic phase, and I think we might be there already,” Fauci replied. “If we can stay in this then we’re at a point where I feel that we’ve done well by this.”
Fauci nevertheless said he doesn’t “have any plans right now to go anywhere, but you never know.”
Mielke then asked if he was considering retirement or stepping back into a more consultant role.
“I certainly am,” Fauci told him. “Because I’ve got to do it sometime. I can’t stay at this job forever, unless my staff is going to find me slumped over my desk one day. I’d rather not do that.”
Fauci previously dismissed the possibility that he had any intention of stepping down when asked by conservative talk radio Hugh Hewitt last fall.
“I’ve lost confidence in the CDC and the FDA. And I actually believe a lot of Americans, a significant part of America, now have lost confidence in you, Dr. Fauci. Is there a point where you will say I do more harm than good because people don’t listen to me anymore and step aside?” Hewitt asked Fauci.
“No, absolutely, unequivocally no, Hugh,” Fauci replied, before defending the nation’s response to COVID.
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It’s hard not to feel that Fauci is talking out of both sides of his mouth here. On one hand, he concedes that it looks like the pandemic is essentially over, and that means it’s a good time for him to step down. But, on the other hand, he seems unwilling to let go of his position.
“When I do decide I’m going to step down—whenever that is—I’m going to have to figure out what I’m going to do,” he told Mielke. “I’d love to spend more time with my wife and family, that would be nice.”
Please, Fauci, go spend time with your family. Don’t pull an RBG.
You can listen to the entire interview here:
Let’s hope Fauci decides to retire sooner than later.
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