Fauci to meet with Biden transition team for the first time Thursday

Rebecca Shabad and Monica Alba and Amanda Golden
·4 min read

WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci will formally meet with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team for the first time on Thursday to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" ahead of the virtual meeting, Fauci said he has not spoken to Biden yet, but has talked informally with members of his team, including recently to Jeff Zients, a top candidate to serve as the incoming administration's coronavirus czar, coordinating the response to the pandemic.

Fauci said he has spoken previously with Biden's incoming White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, but the meeting Thursday with the transition "landing team," which is working on priorities for the early months of the Biden presidency, will mark a more formal process and be more substantive.

"I'm going to be meeting virtually, as you said, talking about just substantive, uncomplicated transition issues like vaccines and the state of the epidemic and things like that," Fauci said. "So I'm looking forward to it."

Fauci added that it will likely be the first of a series of transition meetings with him. He also said he fully expects to remain in his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases as the new administration takes over.

"What contribution I will make in the new administration depends on the new administration," Fauci said. "But I I cannot imagine I'm not going to be involved in the Covid-19 response. I mean that would, I think, be unheard of if that's the case. But we'll see."

The White House task force response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, also started her formal contact with the Biden transition team this week.

Meanwhile, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are also receiving the presidential daily briefing and meeting with transition team advisers Thursday. There are no public events on their schedule.

They are also expected to record a joint interview Thursday with CNN’s Jake Tapper, portions of which are scheduled to air after 4 p.m. ET, with the full interview airing at 9 p.m.

  • Biden on Thursday announced that Brian Deese, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, will serve as director of the National Economic Council. Deese, a former deputy director of the council and the Office of Management and Budget, was part of the Obama administration team that worked on both environmental issues and the bailout of the auto industry.

  • Biden could announce his health team as soon as next week, a transition official told NBC News, including his picks to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the incoming administration’s response to the pandemic. Former Obama Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is a leading contender for HHS secretary, as is Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo.

  • Obama and former Georgia House minority leader and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will headline a get-out-the-vote virtual rally Friday for the state's Democratic Senate candidates, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock. The event will include a discussion with volunteers ahead of the state's Dec. 7 voter registration deadline and the start of in-person early voting on Dec. 14.

  • Harris announced more senior staff appointments Thursday, including her chief of staff, Hartina Flournoy, who has served as former President Bill Clinton's chief of staff. Rohini Kosoglu will serve as a domestic policy adviser and has been with Harris since her days in the Senate, serving as her chief of staff. Nancy McEldowney, a 30-year veteran of the foreign service, will serve as Harris' national security adviser.

  • President Donald Trump has not ruled out the possibility of firing Attorney General William Barr, according to an administration official and two people familiar with the matter who also said a sudden departure is not seen as imminent. Trump publicly lashed at Barr during a White House event on Thursday, telling reporters, "He hasn't done anything."

  • The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an emergency lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign, which sought to invalidate mail ballots it claimed were improperly included during the canvas in Milwaukee and Dane counties.

  • Ivanka Trump was deposed by attorneys alleging that Trump's 2017 inauguration committee misused donor funds, according to a new court filing revealed Wednesday.

Trump has no public events on his schedule. He presented the Medal of Freedom to former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz on Thursday and was also expected to sign legislation that aims to modernize information technology at the federal level and an executive order promoting the use of artificial intelligence in government.

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