After months of being shunted to the sidelines under the Trump administration, White House COVID-19 expert Dr. Anthony Fauci will be returning to the public eye at a press briefing on Thursday.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told “Morning Joe” on Thursday that Fauci, who has been appointed as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, would be joining her at the briefing later that day “as part of our effort to ensure sure we’re having public health experts, medical experts really leading our communication about the process that is underway to get the pandemic under control.”
Fauci’s slated appearance signals President Joe Biden’s aggressive effort to remedy the previous administration’s negligent handling of COVID-19, which included pushing Fauci to the background while parading Scott Atlas and his Trump-friendly talking points on the pandemic in front of the media.
One of the new chief medical adviser’s first acts under Biden’s leadership was to help cement the president’s commitment to keeping the U.S. in the World Health Organization (WHO) after former President Donald Trump attempted to withdraw from the agency.
“The United States sees technical collaboration at all levels as a fundamental part of our relationship with WHO, one that we value deeply and will look to strengthen going forward,” Fauci said in his speech at a WHO executive board meeting early Thursday morning.
“As a WHO member state, the United States will work constructively with partners to strengthen and importantly reform the WHO, to help lead the collective effort to strengthen the international COVID-19 response and address its secondary impacts on people, communities, and health systems around the world,” the health official continued.
The White House briefing will be held at 4 p.m. ET.
