"I have said that for a long time. By the time we get to the end of Biden's first term, I will very likely (retire)," Fauci told CNN.
On Monday, Politico published an interview with Fauci on Monday, in which he said that he didn't expect to retain his position until COVID-19 is eradicated.
“We’re in a pattern now. If somebody says, ‘You’ll leave when we don’t have Covid anymore,’ then I will be 105. I think we’re going to be living with this,” Fauci told Politico.
He later clarified on CNN's "At This Hour" that even though his statement was interpreted as announcing a retirement plan, he jmeant "that it is extremely unlikely -- in fact, for sure -- that I am not going to be here beyond January 2025."
Speaking with Politico, Fauci said he was ready to face criticism and questioning from lawmakers following the upcoming midterm elections in November, should Republicans take control of either chamber of Congress.
Many candidates are running campaigns based on criticizing lockdowns, masking requirements and other public health measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the possibility of political attacks against Fauci for his role in the measures was not a part of his decision-making process for retirement, the report said.
“They’re going to try and come after me, anyway. I mean, probably less so if I’m not in the job,” Fauci reportedly said. “[But] I don’t make that a consideration in my career decision.”
Fauci, if called to give testimony to Congress, will defend vaccines while also acknowledging the possibility that COVID-19 may never be considered defeated, the report also said.
There have been over 562 million cases of COVID-19 confirmed worldwide, with over 89 million of those cases occurring in the US, according to data from Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. Over 6.3 million deaths are associated with the virus worldwide, and over 1 million in the US.
However, Fauci does not want his legacy to be most linked to his work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said. Rather, Fauci prefers to be remembered for his role in the NIAID’s response to the emergence of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, during which he became the institute’s director, according to the report.
Fauci considers the release of the US government’s first national HIV/AIDS strategy under President George W. Bush as one of “the most impactful” moments in his career, the report added.