Earlier this week, POLITICO reported that Anthony Fauci would finally be hanging up his hat after being director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. Could it finally be true? The controversial face of the government’s pandemic response, one who rebuffed many calls to step down, may finally exit stage left. But then headlines emerged saying Fauci isn’t actually retiring. It seemed like an "I will see you there or I will see you on another time" moment from "I Love You, Man."
So, what's the deal?
Fauci clarified that while he "may" leave his NIAID post, he will not retire, meaning the 81-year-old still has other things he wishes to accomplish.
"I'm not going to retire. No, no, I'm not going to retire," he said. "I may step down from my current position at some time."
Fauci explained that he was asked whether he'd stay in the federal government if Donald Trump won in 2024, should the former president enter the race.
"I said a very innocent but true thing. I said whether it's Donald Trump or it's Joe Biden's second term, I don't intend to be in my current position in January of 2025," he told The Hill. "What happens between now and then I have not decided, but the one thing I do know is that I have other things that I want to do in a professional way that I want to have the capability — while I still have the energy and the passion to do them."
Fauci: Actually I'm not retiring pic.twitter.com/NiZvf3xHc6
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 19, 2022
Fauci acknowledged during his POLITICO interview that should Republicans take the House he is preparing for the inevitable attacks but that it won’t affect his decision to step down.
"They're going to try and come after me, anyway. I mean, probably less so if I'm not in the job," he said. "I don't make that a consideration in my career decision."