President Donald Trump terminated Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security detail provided by the National Institutes of Health on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
Since his security detail was pulled, Fauci has hired his own personal security, the source told CNN. Trump addressed the report Friday, saying that officials who once served in the government can’t have security detail “forever.”
“I think you know when you work for govern, government, at some point your security detail comes off. And, you know, you can’t have them forever. So I think it’s very standard, if it would be for somebody else, who wouldn’t be asking the question. Question is very fair,” Trump said when asked to comment on the report. “But, you know, you work for government, we took some off other people too, but you can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government.”
JUST IN: President Trump has terminated Dr. Fauci’s security deal, says he has made a lot of money so he can pay for it himself.
Amazing.
Trump said he would give Bolton and Fauci some “good numbers” of people they could call so they can hire them on their own.
“They can hire… pic.twitter.com/dDIyjzNpZT
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 24, 2025
The president also pulled former national security adviser John Bolton’s security detail clearance upon taking office.
“Would you feel partially responsible if something happened to Dr. Fauci or John Bolton?” a reporter followed up.
“You know, they all made a lot of money. They could hire their own security. All the people you’re talking about, they can go out. I can give them some good numbers of very good security people. They could hire their own security. They all made a lot of money,” the president responded.
“They all did. So, if they, you know, felt that strongly. I think that – certainly I would not take responsibility,” he added. “I think there was enough time. We take a job, you take a job, you want to do a job, we’re not going to have security on people for the rest of their lives. Why should we?”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
A May 2024 House Oversight Committee report showed that a former senior adviser to Fauci, David Morens, and Fauci himself deleted emails to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The pair told people multiple times to contact him at his personal email address to get around such requests, the report shows. Morens also suggested in his emails to Fauci that he use a private email address to conduct his government business, according to the report. Morens similarly told others to communicate with Fauci at a private email address for similar reasons, the House Oversight Committee reported.
In his final day in office, former President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon for Fauci, writing that the public servant and others were “targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.” (RELATED: ‘This Is Very Illegal’: Experts Say Fauci’s Top Aide Likely Broke The Law By Deleting Emails, Using Private Account)
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden wrote in a tweet Jan. 20. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
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