Fauci to Step Down in December

Facts

• On Mon., Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that he’ll be stepping down in Dec. from his roles as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and as chief medical advisor to Pres. Joe Biden.
• Fauci, 81, joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1968 and advised each of the past seven presidents, earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Pres. George W. Bush in 2008.
• Under Bush, Fauci helped develop PEPFAR, a global program to combat HIV/AIDS, which is estimated to have saved 21M lives.
• More recently, Fauci became the controversial and familiar face of the US’s COVID response team, often disagreeing on pandemic measures with former Pres. Trump and receiving a wide array of criticisms.
• Republicans have vowed to investigate Fauci if they gain control of the House and/or Senate in this fall’s midterm elections.
• Fauci says that this isn’t a retirement as he plans to move onto the “next phase” of his career.

Sources: Washington Post, New York Times, and Forbes.

Narratives

• Republican narrative as provided by PJ Medium. It’s about time that Fauci, the man who was wrong about everything related to COVID, is ending his reign. He harmed the country with his version of politicized science and is now running from the eventual Republican investigations that will expose his incompetence.
• Democratic narrative as provided by Bloomberg. Fauci has dedicated many decades to public service, which included not just work on COVID, but also on Ebola, anthrax, HIV/AIDS, Zika, and West Nile virus. Despite being a victim of political entanglement during the pandemic, he was able to explain the science calmly and efficiently. His retirement will leave a hole among Biden’s advisors as the country continues to cope with COVID.