Fauci to Retire Before End of Biden Term

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has announced that he plans to retire from his position as President Biden’s chief medical adviser by the end of the president’s current term in office.

Best known to the world in recent times for his public appearances during the Covid-19 pandemic, Fauci also gained admiration for his work in fighting the HIV crisis in the 1980s. He currently serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), alongside his position in the Biden administration.

Fauci, who has served under seven different presidents over five decades, said he does not have a specific retirement date in mind nor has he started the process of retiring. But at 81 years of age the long-serving adviser accepts his tenure will end before the next presidential term.

“By the time we get to the end of Biden’s first term, I will very likely retire,” he said.

Fauci said he felt he was leaving a good system in place behind him at NIAID and was confident the organization was equipped to handle his departure.

“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 some time. 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.”