House Republicans introduce bill to fire Dr. Fauci



House Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday to set term limits on appointees to direct the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which would effectively fire top White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The bill, titled the "Fauci's Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal (FIRED) Act, was introduced by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and co-sponsored by several House conservatives including Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.). It would set a retroactive 12-year term limit on the NIAID director, a position held by Fauci since 1984.

Should it become law, Fauci would be forced to leave his job.

"In the wake of massive missteps by Dr. Fauci and his subordinates in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, this bill addresses an oft-overlooked issue: The lack of accountability for unelected bureaucrats," a press statement from Davidson's office reads.

"Under Dr. Fauci's guidance, Americans have lost confidence in the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, leading to confusion and serious government overreach that has threatened Americans' livelihoods and freedoms. Despite successful treatment therapies, a historic vaccination development, and decreasing cases, Dr. Fauci has continued to advise healthy, low-risk Americans to continue to act as if the pandemic were out of control — after overseeing nearly a year of draconian public health policies that have decimated the U.S. economy," the statement said.

"Dr. Fauci represents everything that President Eisenhower warned us about in his farewell address: The scientific-technical elite steering the country toward their own ends," Davison said. "Americans have had decades of Dr. Fauci's leadership, and he publicly failed to respond appropriately to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is time for him to step aside so that new leadership can 'follow the science' and start reopening America.'"

The bill has no chance of becoming law with Democrats in control of Congress and President Joe Biden in the White House, but it does reflect growing frustrations among Republicans with Fauci and other Biden administration health officials.

On Tuesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) clashed with Fauci during a hearing on the pandemic response over NIH funding for research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology — the Chinese lab that some suspect may have contributed to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul accused Fauci of supporting risky "gain of function research," which involves manipulating naturally occurring viral diseases to be able to infect humans and studying how they might evolve.

Fauci denied that NIH ever funded the risky research, which some warn could cause a pandemic if an artificial virus is leaked or deliberately released to the public.

President Trump hints he may fire Fauci after the election as chants for his removal break out at rally



President Donald Trump suggested Sunday that he may act to remove Dr. Anthony Fauci from his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after the election.

The president hinted at the move after supporters spontaneously broke out into a "Fire Fauci!" chant at a campaign rally in Opa-Locka, Florida, Sunday night.

"Don't tell anybody, but let me wait 'til a little bit after the election," Trump told the crowd as the chant faded. "I appreciate the advice, I appreciate the advice. No, he's been wrong on a lot. He's a nice man, though. He's been wrong on a lot."

Trump then went to criticize Fauci's credibility, reminding the crowd that the public health expert advised against wearing masks and shutting down travel from China early on during the coronavirus pandemic, two positions he would later flip on.

#BREAKING: President Trump hints he'll fire Dr. Fauci following the election.Crowd at Trump rally chant, "Fire Fa… https://t.co/F6cH3M6R2u
— The Hill (@The Hill)1604295426.0

Trump and Fauci have shared a tenuous working relationship since the start of the pandemic, as the two have often sparred over how best to lead the American people. As Trump has repeatedly insisted that the country needs to open up and recover economically, Fauci has been a consistent voice for the continued implementation of of social distancing measures.

The health expert said recently that even with the development and distribution of a vaccine, masks and social distancing should likely continue until 2022. More recently he forecast that the country was "in for a whole lot of hurt" in the coming months.

It's not a good situation," he told the Washington Post over the weekend. "All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly."

Earlier this month, the president called Fauci a "disaster" during a campaign call.

"People are tired of COVID. I have these huge rallies. People are saying whatever. Just leave us alone. They're tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots. ... Fauci is a nice guy. He's been here for 500 years," Trump said.

"Fauci is a disaster. If I listened to him, we'd have 500,000 deaths," he added. "If there's a reporter on, you can have it just the way I said it, I couldn't care less."

It was not immediately clear whether the president was serious about firing Fauci, who has led the NIAID since 1985, or whether he was just playing to the crowd. Such an action would not necessarily come as a surprise since the president has shown a willingness to remove top public officials.

The move to fire Fauci, however, may not play particularly well in the polls, as Fauci still enjoys high favorability ratings among Americans.