Fauci says ‘it would be better’ if health experts could start working with Biden team
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Sunday on CNN that “it would be better” if public health officials could start working with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team.
The Associated Press and other media outlets named Biden the projected winner of the presidential election last weekend, and Biden’s team has since started planning for his transition of power — last week naming a 13-member coronavirus advisory task force and selecting a White House chief of staff.
But President Donald Trump has refused to concede, and his administration has been slow-walking the transfer of power process.
Emily Murphy, the Trump-appointed administrator of the General Services Administration, has yet to determine Biden as the apparent winner — a process called “ascertainment.” Without her “ascertainment,” Biden’s transition team doesn’t have access to government office space or government funding, which is usually made available for the president-elect.
The delay also means Biden’s team doesn’t have access to important national security information or the ability to asses the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which “poses a serious risk to the U.S.,” John Podesta, co-chairperson on former President Barack Obama’s transition team, told NPR.
This comes as more than 10.9 million coronavirus cases and more than 245,000 deaths have been reported in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.
CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Fauci on Sunday how “problematic” it is for the “fight against the coronavirus” if public health experts can’t start communicating with Biden’s team.
Fauci, who has served six presidents over 36 years, said it’s “very clear” that the transition process is “really important in a smooth handing over of the information.”
“It’s almost like passing a baton in a race,” he said. ”You don’t want to stop and then give it to somebody, you want to just essentially keep going and that’s what transition is. So, it certainly would make things more smoothly if we could do that.”
Ron Klain, Biden’s choice for White House chief of staff, made similar comments Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Biden’s team announced Wednesday that Klain was chosen for the role. He previously served as Biden’s chief of staff when Biden was President Barack Obama’s vice president, and he headed the administration’s response to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.
Klain told NBC that “unfortunately” Biden’s team can’t have contact with Fauci or other public health officials without ascertainment from the GSA.
“Joe Biden’s going to become president of the United States in the midst of an ongoing crisis. That has to be a seamless transition,” he told “Meet the Press.”
He also said “we now have the possibility” of a vaccine and that there are officials making plans to implement it.
“Our experts need to talk to those people as soon as possible so nothing drops in this change of power we’re going to have on January 20,” he said.
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Fauci says ‘it would be better’ if health experts could start working with Biden team."
