President Trump has eliminated federal security detail Dr. Anthony Fauciinfectious disease specialist advised him on the COVID-19 pandemic, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday.
Fauci is the latest in a string of former Trump aides to have their federal protections revoked despite ongoing threats to their lives.
Speaking to reporters in North Carolina on Friday, Mr Trump said he would not feel any responsibility if he harmed former government officials. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, told the AP that Fauci's federal security detail was terminated on Thursday and he has since hired private security. Is.
Asked about Fauci and former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump said, “They all make a lot of money. They might as well keep their own security.”
Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for several decades, before retirement In 2022.
Fauci has faced regular threats to his life and has received federal protection over the years.
In Interview with CBS News last yearFauci said he never received a “credible death threat” until the pandemic and his agency's response.
“No, not credible death threats, where a person is arrested who was clearly intending to kill you,” Fauci told CBS News. “And this has happened at least twice. As we are working, we have a virus that is a common enemy and we are fighting each other.”
Mr. Trump, a Republican, Canceled earlier this week Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, as well as the protection detail for Bolton. All have faced threats from Iran since Trump took a hard-line stance on the Islamic Republic during his first administration and had a falling out with them in the years since he left office in 2021.
Fauci was a regular at Mr Trump's side at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, but criticized Trump after the president tried to undermine public health guidance.
Bolton, Hook and Pompeo were repeatedly renewed by the Biden administration because of credible and ongoing threats from Iran. Fauci was repeatedly renewed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, due to domestic threats.
“You can't have a security detail for the rest of your life because you worked for the government,” Trump said.
Before leaving office on January 20, President Joe Biden ex-sorry Fauci and others thought he might be targeted by the Trump administration.