Fauci Says He’s Likely Stepping Down in 2024

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during a hearing, with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, on the COVID-19 response, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 18, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Pool/Getty Images)

White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci suggested he will likely step down from office in 2024 regardless of who wins the presidential election.

“I’m not going to get involved in any politics about who is or is not going in the White House,” Fauci told Fox News on Wednesday during an interview about what he would do if former President Donald Trump was elected.

“By the way,“ Fauci added, ”by the time that happens, I think I won’t be around, no matter who the president is.”

Fauci, 81, is both chief medical adviser to the president and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a position he’s held since 1984. He joined the National Institutes of Health, which oversees NIAID, in 1968 as a clinical associate.

Notably, he essentially worked as the federal government’s public face in relation to its response to COVID-19, often giving interviews to mainstream media outlets, local stations, and even small YouTube channels on a daily basis.

Republican lawmakers have often criticized him for his dire, COVID-19-related predictions. Some, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have said that if the GOP takes the House or Senate in 2022, Fauci—who has publicly championed lockdowns and COVID-19 mandates—will be investigated.

“I’m not done yet,” Fauci also said during Wednesday’s interview. “But you’re talking about a few years from now. And I don’t foresee that I will be doing this a few years from now.”

When asked by Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto: “So, no matter who is president whether it’s Joe Biden getting reelected or someone else, Donald Trump or anyone else, you would not continue?”

Fauci replied with “that’s exactly correct” and noted, “I have been doing this now for 38 years. It will be over 40 years if I wait that long.”

In May, Fauci offered a vaguely critical statement against Trump, saying that he would not serve as chief medical adviser to the president if Trump were reelected.

“If Trump were to return to the White House as president, and COVID is still a threat or there is some other public health emergency, would you have confidence in his ability—would you have confidence in his ability to deal with a pandemic of this nature?” CNN host Jim Acosta asked him in mid-May. “Would you want to stay on in your post?”

“Well, no to the second question,” Fauci said. “The first question, if you look at the history of what the [COVID-19] response was during the [Trump] administration, I think at best you could say it wasn’t optimal.”

During the Fox News interview, Fauci did not offer more details about his possible resignation.