Joe Biden asks Anthony Fauci, the federal coronavirus expert, to become his chief medical adviser

Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read

President-elect Joe Biden told CNN on Thursday that he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the expert on the coronavirus pandemic, to become his chief medical adviser and part of his Covid-19 response team.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been a top official dealing with the pandemic. But President Donald Trump sidelined him at points during the year after Fauci’s stark warnings about the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and halting large-scale gatherings.

"I asked him to stay on the exact same role he's had for the past several presidents, and I asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me as well, and be part of the Covid team," Biden said.

Related: President-elect Biden calls on Congress for COVID-19 stimulus

Fauci had told CBS News that he would meet Thursday Biden’s transition team to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I'm going to be meeting with them today, by Zoom," Fauci told CBS News.

"So today will be the first day where there will be substantive discussions about the transition between me and the Biden team," Fauci added. "I'm very pleased that today we're having the first discussion about a number of things, vaccinations and things like that."

The meeting comes after more than 273,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and nearly 14 million have been infected, according to Johns Hopkins University. The meeting with Fauci comes during a surge to more than 2,800 deaths per day, a figure eclipsing the deaths at Pearl Harbor and nearly matching the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Biden supported Fauci throughout the campaign and transition as an expert who could be trusted for guidelines on how to combat the virus – and whether promising vaccines are ready for widespread distribution, as expected later this month.

Fauci has warned about the prospects of a surge in infections after holiday gatherings and because more people are indoors during colder weather. But he has also offered assurances that vaccines regulated by the federal government will be safe.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says a coronavirus vaccine could come earlier than expected.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says a coronavirus vaccine could come earlier than expected.

Biden has repeatedly cautioned that even if vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are approved, it could take months and billions of dollars to distribute them nationwide.

“Help is on the way in terms of vaccines," Biden told an online roundtable with workers and small-business owners Wednesday.

But he continued to warn against travel and large family gatherings for the holidays.

“Christmas is going to be a lot harder," Biden said, after holding Thanksgiving on Zoom. "I don’t want to scare anybody here, but understand the facts. We’re likely to lose another 250,000 dead between now and January.”

Biden told reporters Tuesday that his staffers have spoken with Fauci, but that he hadn't spoken directly with him.

“He’s been very, very helpful," Biden said.

Fauci told CBS he has spoken to Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, a few times, but that the conversations weren’t “substantive,” according to CBS and CNN. Fauci has said he thought the Biden’s team was keeping him at arm’s length to avoid disputes with Trump.

Biden is expected to name his health team next week, after already announcing his foreign-affairs and economics teams.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID: Joe Biden names Anthony Fauci chief medical adviser on pandemic

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Police 'reviewing information' about Tory MP Mark Menzies after alleged misuse of funds

    Police say they are reviewing "information" about Conservative MP Mark Menzies after Labour asked for an investigation into claims he misused party funds. Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds wrote to Lancashire Police asking for an inquiry after The Times reported he had made a late-night phone call to an aide asking for funds to pay off "bad people". Mr Menzies told the paper he contests the allegations against him.

  • Google scraps minimum wage, benefits rules for suppliers and staffing firms

    Alphabet Inc's Google on Friday said it will roll back requirements that U.S. suppliers and staffing firms pay their employees at least $15 an hour and provide health insurance and other benefits, a move that could allow the tech giant to avoid bargaining with unions. The elimination of the 2019 policy, along with other steps such as limiting access by temporary workers and vendors to internal systems, are designed to comply with shifting U.S. and global labor regulations related to contingent workers, a spokesperson for Mountain View, California-based Google told Reuters. "These updates bring us in line with other large companies and simply clarify that Google is not, and has never been, the employer of our suppliers’ employees," the spokesperson said.

  • Ryan Gosling and Miller/Lord’s Project Hail Mary could be the sci-fi event of 2026

    Amazon MGM just set a March 20, 2026 release date for Project Hail Mary, an adaptation of the Andy Weir novel. The film stars Ryan Gosling and is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

  • Powassan council to revisit library proposal to increase budget by 26 per cent

    Powassan town council plans to revisit a request from the local library board to raise its budget by 26 per cent this year. Council first rejected the proposal from the Powassan District Union Public Library at its April 2nd meeting and countered with a seven percent increase. However, following a presentation from the library board members and its CEO at the April 16th meeting, Mayor Peter McIsaac said despite the council already setting its budget, “we’re going to bring the library portion bac

  • Arrest over Russian plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky

    Polish police have arrested a man suspected of aiding a Russian plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky, targeting an airport the Ukrainian leader uses for overseas travel.

  • UPDATE 1-New York fails to reach contracts with 3 major offshore wind farms

    A New York state agency on Friday said it had failed to reach final contract agreements with the developers of three major offshore wind projects, blaming a decision by General Electric Vernova to scrap plans for a new turbine. The projects affected include Attentive Energy One, being developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation, Community Offshore Wind, backed by RWE and National Grid Ventures, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said in a statement. Excelsior Wind, being developed by Vineyard Offshore, is also affected, it said.

  • Flames want to promote their team as a desirable destination for NHL players

    CALGARY — Winning more games and the construction of a new arena will convince more NHL players that Calgary is a desirable place to play, some Flames say as they head for the exits. Calgary finished 17 points out of a playoff spot this season with a record of 38-39-5, and missed the post-season a second straight year. A slow start to the season combined with big-name pending free agents not signing contract extensions produced midseason lineup changes that hampered the club's progress. Other pl

  • Stock market today: Gold and oil spike and US futures drop after Iran comes under fire

    Gold and oil prices jumped following Israel's apparent retaliation against Iran before paring gains, while stock markets look set to open lower.

  • Receiver Eugene Lewis optimistic about Edmonton Elks' 2024 fortunes

    Receiver Eugene Lewis can't wait to start earning quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson's trust. The signing of Bethel-Thompson, a two-time Grey Cup champion, was Edmonton's biggest off-season move. The Elks have finished last in the West Division three consecutive years. CFL training camps open next month. "I know what a great quarterback can do," Lewis said. "Somebody with experience, somebody who's been through it and won championships and MBT has done that. "To have another guy like that, anoth

  • The Latest | Full jury of 12 people and 6 alternates seated in Trump's hush money trial in New York

    NEW YORK (AP) — A jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated on Friday in former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial. The completion of the jury selection process tees up the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president for opening statements and weeks of testimony in a case charging Trump with falsifying business records to suppress stories about his sex life emerging in the final days of the 2016 election. The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer,

  • EastEnders' Balvinder Sopal thanks colleagues after mum's death

    EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal has thanked colleagues for their support in the days following the death of her mother, Nirmal.

  • Europe discards Arsenal and Liverpool shift focus to EPL title race

    LONDON (AP) — What will it take to win the English Premier League with six games remaining? That's easy — perfection. Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool — all eliminated from their European competitions this week — are locked in a tight battle for the title. Defending champion City leads both rivals by two points but with Pep Guardiola's team playing an FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal and Liverpool can gain ground. “If you want to be champion in the Premier League, you

  • Israel’s strike has exposed Iran’s fatal weakness

    Israel’s presumed counterstrike against Iran has proved Joe Biden and David Cameron wrong in their insistence that Israel should just “take the win”. Instead, it fought back – and yesterday Iran was trying to pretend that nothing had happened.

  • Police reviewing allegations against suspended Tory MP accused of pay-off to ‘bad people’

    Officers consider letter calling on them to investigate

  • Next UN climate talks are critical to plot aid for poorer nations, says incoming president

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who will run United Nations climate talks this November views the negotiations as a key link in international efforts to curb global warming. The conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, must build on last year's successful agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, said Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan's environment minister who will serve as conference president of the talks known as COP29 this fall. And this fall's meeting must help pave the way for countries to come together

  • Sunak accused of making mental illness ‘another front in the culture wars’

    Charities say high rates of people signed off work are caused by crumbling public services after years of underinvestment

  • Police 'reviewing letter' about Tory MP Mark Menzies after alleged misuse of funds

    Lancashire Police says it is in the ‘process of reviewing available information in more detail’

  • TREASURIES-Yields slip as investors move toward safe haven assets

    Easing concerns over a broad Middle East conflict will likely continue to pressure Treasuries, which have sold off for much of the week on worries that persistent inflation will prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates this year. A number of Fed officials have said this week that they do not feel urgency to cut rates given the strength of the U.S. economy and labor market. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari told Fox News Channel late Thursday that he also wants to be "patient," with the first rate cut "potentially" not appropriate until next year.

  • ‘Get off my mom’: Stabbing suspect killed in house fire after standoff with Sacramento deputies

    A child was screaming at the suspect to leave his mother alone after a stabbing, Sacramento deputies said.

  • Penguins GM Dubas joins Canada's front office for world hockey championship

    CALGARY — Pittsburgh Penguins general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas has been named to Canada's front office team for the upcoming world hockey championship. Hockey Canada announced Friday that Dubas will make his international debut as an associate general manager on GM Rick Nash's staff. Dubas, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., recently completed his first season leading Pittsburgh's front office. The Penguins made a late playoff push but ended the season three points behind