President Donald Trump cut off taxpayer-funded security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, he confirmed this week.
According to The New York Times, Fauci did not have Secret Service protection. He was protected by federal marshals, and later by a private contractor whose fees were paid by the government.
Trump confirmed the news to a journalist in North Carolina.
“I think when you work for government, at some point your security detail comes off, and you know, you can’t have them forever,” Trump told a reporter at a hurricane response briefing in Asheville, NC.
“We took some off other people too,” the president continued. “They can hire their own security too. … I can give them some good numbers of very good security people.”
“Fauci made a lot of money. They all did,” Trump added.
According to Fox News, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requested security for Fauci in 2020 to protect him from threats that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, one of Fauci’s toughest critics, said on X that he sent in supporting information to end Fauci’s security detail.
“Today I sent supporting information to end the 24 hr a day limo and security detail for Fauci. I wish him nothing but peace but he needs to pay for his own limos,” he said.
