Dr, Anthony Fauci insisted his decision to retire is not motivated by GOP lawmakers' promise to investigate his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto on "Your World" Tuesday.
Fauci said he was not worried about an investigation if Republicans take control of Congress in the November midterm elections. When asked whether the prospect of a Republican-led Congress looking into allegations the National Institutes of Health has been connected to gain-of-function research funding intimidated him, Fauci forcefully dismissed the question.
"[N]ot at all. Not even a little bit. I mean, I have nothing to hide, and I can defend everything I've done and every decision I've made. So I'm not afraid of that at all," he said. "That didn't even come in as a minor consideration."
Fauci said he wanted to find the right time to retire; when he is still "healthy and vigorous and energetic and passionate about what I was doing" balanced with a positive or manageable national outlook in terms of the coronavirus pandemic.
He decided to remain in his Bethesda, Maryland office at least one more year after then-President-elect Biden asked him to be his chief White House medical adviser. He also wanted to see a point in the United States where coronavirus would be at a "period of equilibrium" with daily life.
"And I'm going to give a bit of a runway, a long runway, til December before I step down. But it was the right time," Fauci said.
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Fauci, a longtime National Institutes of Allergy & Infectious Disease director who has appeared multiple times before the Democratic-led Congress and received a friendly reception from the controlling party, has also however notably clashed with minority Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky – who himself is a medical doctor.
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The NIAID chief told Fox News he is therefore open to any Republican-led investigations of himself and his conduct, but will not suffer "character assassination."
"If you look at what's happened in the past, I believe that oversight is an important part of the government process. But some of the things that have gone on have been outright character assassination," he said. "That's not oversight. So if they want to get into legitimate, dignified oversight, I'd be more than happy to do that."
Fauci also dismissed claims he helped mastermind socioeconomic lockdowns that became the way of life in several Democrat-run states.
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In New York, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo came under fire for his lockdown policies, which also involved facilitating transfers of patients to nursing homes.
President Biden's current Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine helped oversee Pennsylvania's lockdown orders, while officials in New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island executed similar policies.
"I didn't shut down anything," Fauci told Cavuto Tuesday. "There was a lot of consideration among the White House task force that we were reaching a point where the hospitals, such as in New York City and other places, were being strained to the point of practically being overwhelmed."
"[A]nd the record will show that [Dr. Deborah Birks and I] didn't recommend shutting everything down. We wanted to cause a pause to -- remember the terminology -- flatten the curve," he added.
