Top scientist says GOP and Trump tried to bully him into firing Fauci
‘I was not going to compromise scientific principles’, said outgoing NIH head
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dr Francis Collins, the outgoing head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said he faced pressure from Donald Trump and Republican figures to fire its director, Dr Anthony Fauci, for “political concerns”.
Dr Collins told CBS News on Sunday that Covid forced him into confrontation with members of the Republican Party as well as the former president, who frequently clashed with the NIH on how to combat Covid.
Talking about Dr Fauci’s work on Mr Trump’s Covid task force, Dr Collins said he was forced to defend his colleague and who he described as “the greatest expert in infectious disease the world has known” following calls for his dismissal.
He said: “Can you imagine a circumstance where the director of the NIH, somebody who believes in science, would submit to political pressures and fire the greatest expert in infectious disease the world has known just to satisfy political concerns?”
The now former NIH head said he even “got a bit of a talking to” from Mr Trump for refusing to back a number of so-called “cures” for the virus, which included blood plasma transfers, disinfectant, and sunlight – all of which were bogus.
Dr Collins said he often “stood firm” against the former president and that, “I have done everything I can to stay out of any kind of political, partisan debates because it is really not a place where medical research belongs”.
He added: “I was not going to compromise scientific principles to just hold onto the job.”
More than 800,000 Americans have died during the Covid outbreak.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments