Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been the public official whom Americans across the political spectrum can most trust to provide accurate and scientifically supported information on the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why, amid anxiety and uncertainty, he enjoys an approval rating of nearly 80%. Yet now there’s debate over whether President Trump should fire him, or over whether he will do so.

Firing somebody of Fauci’s experience and knowledge at the height of the worst pandemic to hit the United States in a century would be a grave mistake.