Of the hundred women invited to Georgetown’s Cafe Milano for the inaugural “D.C. Power Index Lunch,” Christine Grady was one of the few donning a black N95-style mask. But the chief of the National Institutes of Health’s bioethics department did briefly unmask to take photos and accept an award from Microsoft’s Teresa Carlson, Paramount Global’s DeDe Lea, and magazine editor Joanna Coles, founder of the New York Power 100 lunch.
Grady spilled very little about her husband, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci — except for whether he expects coronavirus mask mandates will return.
“Well, I think he’s of the opinion that masks should be worn when they’re needed, when there’s a lot of people around,” said Grady when asked by the Washington Examiner. “It might come back on a local level. I heard that LA, for example, is [bringing back an indoor mask mandate].”
Ultimately, Grady claimed that Fauci would not encourage the federal government to bring back mask mandate guidance.
Fauci, who caused a stir after announcing he would retire at the end of Joe Biden’s presidency, backtracked during a Politico interview on Monday, claiming he will not retire but rather step back from his government position. Grady said, simply, “He hasn’t decided” about his future career plans. But she did not rule out her husband following the lead of former coronavirus task force leader Deborah Birx.
“I don’t know,” Grady said of the possibility of a future Fauci book. “I think he has some ideas about books.”
