Why Anthony Fauci Plans On Stepping Down By The End Of Joe Biden’s First Term

Even if President Joe Biden is elected for another four years, Dr. Anthony Fauci will step down from his position as chief medical advisor.

On Monday, Fauci, who also serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced that he will most likely retire from his government positions when Biden’s current term officially ends in January 2025.

“I have always said that sometime in the reasonable future, I would be stepping down,” Fauci told NBC News.

“Thus sometime between now and then, I very likely will step down and move on to the next phase in my professional career, whatever that may be.”

When Fauci, 81, leaves his positions with the government, he expects his departure to be a smooth transition for the NIAID.

“Everybody in a position of any influence in my institute, I handpick. So, it’s something that I’ve been working on now for four decades. So we have a good system in place,” Fauci told CNN.

“Obviously, you can’t go on forever. I do want to do other things in my career, even though I’m at a rather advanced age. I have the energy and the passion to continue to want to pursue other aspects of my professional career, and I’m going to do that sometime. I’m not exactly sure when, but I don’t see myself being in this job to the point where I can’t do anything else after that.”

Throughout his time as the director of NIAID, Fauci led the federal public health responses to the Zika virus, HIV/AIDS crisis, Ebola, and anthrax scares.

Although Fauci has served under seven presidents over the course of over five decades, he became a household name at the start of the coronavirus pandemic advising the Trump administration.

While Fauci plans to step down from his current government roles, he said “no decision has been made” about when he will officially retire.

“I do not plan to be in this position forever,” he added.