Unelected bureaucrat Dr. Anthony Fauci, now a private citizen, is still enjoying an extravagant lifestyle courtesy of U.S. taxpayers.
Since January 2023, one month after he left the federal government, $15 million in tax dollars have been spent on security services for Fauci, including a fully staffed U.S. Marshals security detail, according to an OpenTheBooks.com investigation.
Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, OpenTheBooks.com uncovered an "unprecedented" arrangement — officially termed a "memorandum of understanding" — between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Marshals Service that "sets forth the understanding of the obligations and goals [...] relating to protective services for Dr. Anthony Fauci" prior to and after his retirement from federal service.
The taxpayer-funded security package covers salaries and benefits, including overtime pay, for the U.S. Marshals guarding Fauci, a private chauffeur to haul him around in a limousine, and law enforcement equipment, among other expenses.
The multi-million-dollar agreement, which was set to end in September 2024, said the contract could be extended, but it's unknown if it has been. OpenTheBooks.com asked the U.S. Marshals Service for clarification, and they have yet to respond.
The Fauci-related costs come as the agency is struggling to meet the demands of its duties, especially defending current government employees, due to budget constraints.
A subagency of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Marshals Service is typically tasked with capturing fugitives from the law and protecting federal judges.
In 2020, a federal judge's son was assassinated at home, leading to an inspector general report finding that "resource limitations and competing agency budget and staffing priorities" have impeded the U.S. Marshals Service's ability to provide optimal protective services to the nation's judiciary.
The agency asked Congress for an additional $28.1 million in funding next fiscal year to help alleviate its limited staffing situation pertaining to the Judicial Security Division.
While the funds used to protect and transport Fauci came out of the HHS budget, valuable manpower was wasted on staffing Fauci's full-fledged security team.
Though he retired in December 2022 as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Fauci claims he is continuing to receive death threats over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In interviews with the press, Fauci insisted that these perks are necessary because of the threats from what he describes as the "extreme radical right."
"I am a big, big target of the extreme radical right in this country," Fauci told Newshub, trying to justify his welfare support despite touting an eight-figure net worth.
"I get so many threats. Some of them are credible threats of violence [...] that I have to be walking around with federal marshals protecting me, which is completely crazy," Fauci complained.
During a publicity tour to push his new memoir, Fauci said he is scared "deep down that there's a possibility that somebody's gonna kill me." Fauci is carted around from one media appearance to the next to promote his new memoir, thanks to his limo driver and entourage of officers.
At the time of his retirement, Fauci made more than the president of the United States. In fact, with a record government salary of $480,654, he was the highest-paid employee of all 4 million federal workers. OpenTheBooks.com estimated Fauci's pension would be about $355,000 per year, also the largest retirement package ever, adding to the fortune he's amassed over five decades in the federal bureaucracy.
In 2021, Fauci was awarded a $1 million cash prize for "courageously defending science in the face of uninformed opposition during the challenging COVID crisis." The awards committee said "he has been widely praised for his courage in speaking truth to power in a highly charged political environment."
According to OpenTheBooks investigative journalist Jeremy Portnoy, writing for RealClearInvestigations, government-level security for a former federal employee who is not an ex-president is "incredibly unusual" and "possibly unheard of."
"If Fauci wants protection, he should pay for it himself," Portnoy quipped.
OpenTheBooks.com could not find another case of a former fed receiving this level of protection.
Meanwhile, other prominent political figures are not as fortunate as Fauci. Receiving far less favorable treatment, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was repeatedly denied U.S. Secret Service protection amid his independent bid for the presidency until the first failed assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump.
"Why was Fauci granted a year-and-a-half of federal protection — a situation seemingly unique to federal bureaucrats — while a prominent president[ial] candidate went without it?" the OpenTheBooks.com exposé questioned.
"Dr. Fauci can afford his own security detail," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said in The Daily Mail. "Taxpayers paid for his mishandling of COVID-19. They shouldn't continue to pay."