Fauci Accepts Biden Administration Role, Hahn Says He Hasn’t Been Contacted

The Biden transition team has asked Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation’s top infectious disease expert, to stay on in the role he has held there since 1984.

In addition, Biden has asked him to be chief medical adviser to the president-elect and to be part of the new administration’s COVID-19 response team — and Fauci has accepted.

Fauci, whose name has become a household one since the pandemic struck, has been attacked by President Trump in recent months as he has countered the White House’s messaging that the pandemic is soon to end.

Fauci has served many presidents; under normal circumstances, a new president’s decision to keep him on wouldn’t make news. But after standing firm in the face of Trump’s frequent verbal assaults, Fauci has become, for many, a calming force and a beloved symbol of good medical advice.

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn — who Trump has also repeatedly gone after for putting extra safety controls in place for COVID-19 vaccine candidates — has said that he hasn’t been contacted by the Biden administration about any future appointments, which could mean he’s not being offered a job with the new administration.

Fauci apologized last week for suggesting that authorities in the UK rushed in authorizing a COVID-19 vaccine. He raised the ire of regulators there when he said in an interview that those responsible for approving vaccines in the UK hadn’t acted as carefully as the FDA when scrutinizing vaccine data. Fauci clarified that he meant to say the FDA does things differently — not better. He added that his comments weren’t phrased properly and said that he has “great faith” in the UK’s regulators. — Suz Redfearn