Dr. Anthony Fauci is stepping down from three government positions that he currently holds, he announced on Aug. 22.
He’s resigning as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.
The moves will take effect in December, Fauci said.
He indicated that he'll leave the government, but not retire.
“While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring,” Fauci said. “After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field. I want to use what I have learned as NIAID Director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats.”
Fauci, 81, had repeatedly hinted that he would step down from his positions but hadn’t committed before to a specific time for resigning.
Republicans have vowed to investigate Fauci and other architects of U.S. pandemic policy if they gain control of either or both congressional chambers in the upcoming midterm elections.
Longtime Government Official
Fauci has directed NIAID since 1984. He has advised Biden since the president took office in 2021, and he was one of President Donald Trump’s chief advisers on the COVID-19 pandemic.Fauci has drawn ire for recommending lockdowns as a bid to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, acknowledging that he deliberately misled the American public on mask-wearing, and defending NIAID funding for the laboratory in Wuhan, China, that’s located near the location where the first COVID-19 cases occurred.
Supporters say Fauci has been a voice of reason during the pandemic and that his positions have evolved as science has developed.
NIAID is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Lawrence Tabak, the acting director of the NIH, said in a statement that Fauci is “the model public servant” and “is always guided by the science.
“It’s been an extraordinary privilege and honor to have worked by his side and to have learned so much from him—I will miss him greatly. But I also look forward to seeing what Tony will do next. I have no doubt that he will continue to have an enormous impact on the world,” Tabak said.
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