Sen. Ed Markey announced his intention to introduce legislation to protect Dr. Anthony Fauci from being fired for political reasons.
The Massachusetts Democrat’s proposal, which he announced on Tuesday, came in response to the president sharing a tweet that included the hashtag “FireFauci.” When asked if Trump is planning on firing Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and sits on the administration’s coronavirus task force, the White House issued a scathing statement saying the president has no such intention.
The bill, if passed, would prevent the president from firing a director of any national research institute or national center under the National Institute of Health “on the basis of malfeasance by, neglect of office by, or incapacity of the director.”
“Trump has an allergy to both — science and the truth. Our response to the coronavirus crisis must be based on science, on data, and on the truth. We cannot allow Donald Trump to silence Dr. Fauci or any other government scientists,” Markey said in a statement titled “Senator Markey to Introduce Legislation to Protect Dr. Tony Fauci, Research Institute Heads from Politically-Motivated Termination.”
[Read more: Ron Paul calls on Trump or ‘the people’ to fire Fauci]
He added, “Educating the public about the science and the facts that will save lives is not, and should never be, a firing offense.”
Some speculated that Fauci’s position on the coronavirus task force might be in peril after he appeared to criticize the president’s response to the coronavirus in its early stages. He noted in an interview on CNN Sunday that certain preventative measures faced “a lot of pushback” early in the U.S. coronavirus outbreak and that the country was now looking for ways to handle it more effectively.
On Monday, however, Fauci addressed his remarks, saying his use of the term “pushback” was the “was the wrong choice of words.” He added that Trump did not pressure him to make the clarification.
