Dr. Anthony Fauci stated on Monday that he is planning on retiring by the end of Joe Biden’s first term. This means that after January 2025, Fauci will be formally retired.
Fauci has had a long tenure. Now 81 years old, Fauci was appointed director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1984. He has led studies in HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, Ebola, Zika, and the coronavirus, according to The Associated Press.
He has advised seven presidents and currently serves as Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser.
While he is leaving his post as the government’s top infectious disease expert, Fauci noted in an interview with POLITICO that he hopes he would “leave behind an institution where I have picked the best people in the country, if not the world, who will continue my vision.”
Fauci did not provide an exact date for his retirement, though he stated that he is expecting to leave the government before the end of Biden’s first term.
“By the time we get to the end of Biden’s first term, I will very likely (retire),” Fauci said. “It is extremely unlikely — in fact, for sure — that I am not going to be here beyond January 2025.”
Fauci has played a prominent role in the spotlight as the pandemic swept the United States. He testified repeatedly to Congress about the virus, and he also engaged in several heated discussions with some government officials, including GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Fauci insists, however, that his decision to leave his role is not in any way related to politics.
“It has nothing to do with pressures, nothing to do with all of the other nonsense that you hear about, all the barbs, the slings, and the arrows. That has no influence on me,” he said.
Yeah, right.