On Friday, the White House’s top medical doctor Anthony Fauci said that he “can’t stay at this job forever,” teasing a possible forthcoming retirement.
Fauci, who is 81, made his remarks during an interview on ABC’s “Start Here” podcast with host Brad Mielke.
"I can’t stay at this job forever," admitted Dr. Fauci. "Unless my staff is gonna find me slumped over my desk one day." https://t.co/WDbFWZIP1N
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) March 18, 2022
Fauci ‘I can’t stay at this job forever’
Fauci said of his role during the COVID-19 pandemic, “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, if we can stay in this.”
His comments might not jive with other comments he made Sunday, suggesting that COVID restrictions may need to come back.
Nevertheless, he then teased that he could be retiring in the near future.
“I can’t stay at this job forever,” Fauci said. “Unless my staff is going to find me slumped over my desk one day. I’d rather not do that.”
“I, unfortunately, am somewhat of a unidimensional physician-scientist-public health person. 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,” Fauci continued. “I’d love to spend more time with my wife and family, that would be nice.”
Since 1968, Fauci has worked at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci became the director of the NIAID in 1984.
In January 2020, former President Donald Trump oversaw Fauci becoming a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Fauci has famously clashed with Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has consistently been one of the doctor’s harshest critics, particularly with Paul claiming Fauci has lied about U.S. funded “gain-of-function” research conducted in a Chinese lab.
Last week, Sen. Paul proposed an amendment that would eliminate Fauci’s position of director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci is the highest paid federal employee, earning well over $400,000 annually.
No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans. https://t.co/I3g6pbm6nW
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 14, 2022
Sen. Paul on Fauci: ‘No one person should be deemed ‘dictator-in-chief’
“We’ve learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed ‘dictator-in-chief,” Paul said in a statement. “No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans.”
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions rejected Sen. Paul’s measure.