Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden’s top Covid-19 adviser, stepping down to ‘pursue next chapter’
- He became face of US pandemic response in 2020, a role that saw him clash with Trump and made him subject to political attacks and death threats
- On leaving the government after 50 years of service, Fauci says he will continue working to inspire and mentor next generation of scientific leaders
Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert who became a household name – and the subject of partisan attacks – during the Covid-19 pandemic, announced on Monday he will depart the US federal government in December after more than five decades of service.
Fauci, who serves as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation.
He was a leader in the federal response to HIV/Aids and other infectious diseases even before the coronavirus hit.
“I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career,” Fauci said in a statement, calling those roles “the honour of a lifetime”.
Fauci became the face of the government response to Covid-19 as it hit in early 2020, with frequent appearances on television news and at daily press conferences with White House officials, including then President Donald Trump.