Dr. Fauci to step down in December

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday he would step down from his positions as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and as chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden in December.

He would also step down as chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation.

Fauci has served under seven presidents and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008.

“I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career,” Fauci said in a statement, calling those roles “the honor of a lifetime.”

In a statement Monday, Biden applauded Fauci’s service — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve been able to call him at any hour of the day for his advice as we’ve tackled this once-in-a-generation pandemic. His commitment to the work is unwavering, and he does it with an unparalleled spirit, energy and scientific integrity,” the statement read in part.

Fauci became the face of the government response to COVID-19 as it hit in early 2020, with frequent appearances on television news and at daily press conferences with White House officials, including then-President Donald Trump. But as the pandemic deepened, Fauci fell out of favor with Trump and his officials when his urgings of continued public caution clashed with the former president’s desire to return to normalcy and to promote unproven therapies for the virus.

Fauci said despite retiring from federal service he planned to continue working. “I want to use what I have learned as NIAID director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats,” he said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.