Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield has embarked upon an interesting career path after overseeing the agency’s turbulent response to the COVID-19 pandemic under the Trump administration.
On Monday, Redfield was introduced as a new adviser for “Big Ass Fans,” a company based in Lexington, Kentucky that manufactures very large fans.
Big Ass Fans announced on Facebook that the former CDC official was serving as the firm’s “Strategic Health and Safety Advisor.”
“Dr. Redfield’s extensive background and expertise allows us to address the problems persisting in our built environment to mitigate person-to-person spread of airborne pathogens, something the pandemic has brought to light,” Big Ass Fans spokesperson Alex Risen told TPM in an email.
Though he may be seeking a fresh start at Big Ass Fans, Redfield hasn’t been able to leave his troubles at the CDC behind him: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), who heads the House Subcommittee on Coronavirus, alleges that Redfield deleted evidence of the Trump administration’s political interference of the agency’s COVID-19 guidelines, and is demanding an interview with the former health official.
Correction: This post originally misidentified the state Clyburn represents.
