Jen Psaki Reveals How She Feels About Dr. Fauci Amid Email Release
The Biden White House is standing by Dr. Anthony Fauci as he faces criticism over leaked emails that he sent over a year ago. Thousands of Fauci's emails were made public and they show that, in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) dismissed the theory that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China.
Fauci defended himself after the emails were released, saying that the content of the emails was "misconstrue[d]" and that he stands by his theory that, "The most likely origin is from an animal species to a human," although he's open to the possibility of other origins (via CNN).
Fauci also serves as chief medical advisor to the president, and White House press secretary Jennifer Psaki has made clear that President Joe Biden remains pleased with Fauci's work. "He's been an undeniable asset in our country's pandemic response," Psaki said at her daily press briefing on Thursday, June 3, 2021, per the New York Post.
Jen Psaki said that she can't imagine President Biden would fire Fauci under any circumstances
The questions and criticisms about Dr. Anthony Fauci — primarily coming from Republicans — continued during Jennifer Psaki's press briefing on the morning of Friday, June 4, 2021, as reported by The Washington Post.
"Dr. Fauci is a renowned public servant, civil servant, I should say, career civil servant," Psaki said, via The Washington Post. "He's overseeing management of multiple global health crises. And the attacks and attacks launched on him are certainly something we wouldn't stand by."
When asked whether or not President Joe Biden would ever fire Fauci, Psaki gave a definitive "no" in response. The Washington Post also noted that when Biden himself was asked about Fauci, he stated that, "I'm very confident in Dr. Fauci." Biden has tasked the intelligence community with intensifying their investigation into the origin of the deadly virus, per CNN. He requested that they report back to him in 90 days with their findings.
"As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China. I have also asked that this effort include work by our National Labs and other agencies of our government to augment the Intelligence Community's efforts," Biden said in a statement released Wednesday, via CNN. "And I have asked the Intelligence Community to keep Congress fully apprised of its work."