This just in: Former government employees are not entitled to a protective detail at taxpayer expense for life.
President Trump seems to be making good use of this principle to save the American taxpayers a few bucks. Most recently, he has yanked the protective detail of “Mr. Science,” former White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that he has terminated the security detail provided to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the taxpayer’s expense.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requested security for Fauci in 2020 to protect him from threats he received as the top health official and public spokesperson during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that detail was pulled on Thursday night, CNN first reported.
Trump was asked about the decision Friday while visiting Asheville, N.C., to tour areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“I think, you know, when you work for government, at some point your security detail comes off and, you know, you can’t have them forever,” Trump said.
“We took some off other people too, but you can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government,” he added.
This isn’t the first time President Trump has terminated the security details of former government officials and employees; for example, he also terminated the details of the 51 intelligence officials who notoriously claimed that Hunter Biden’s laptop was a “Russian disinformation operation.” It wasn’t; they lied; now they have no security details.
The president makes a very good point. These people, both the 51 intel types and Dr. Fauci, have no reason to expect the American taxpayers to provide them a security detail for life. Not even former presidents get a lifetime security detail as a matter of course, so there’s no reason anyone else should.
See Related: Fauci’s Not Out of the Woods Yet: ‘Mr. Science’ Still Faces Legal Perils Despite Biden Pardon
NEW: Biden Pardons Fauci, Milley, Cheney, Others in Shocking Abuse of Presidential Power
Here’s the thing: Dr. Fauci, a government employee for most of his adult life, remarkably has managed to squirrel away a net worth of about $11.5 million. He can afford a bodyguard.
After retiring as the director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) last year, Anthony Fauci, MD reported a net household worth of $11.5 million.
This included the net worth of his wife Christine Grady, chief bioethicist at NIH.
Dr. Fauci’s termination report showed that the couple’s wealth increased by nearly $2 million dollars during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What an amazing coincidence! But wait! There’s more!
Dr. Fauci, who worked for both the Trump and Biden administrations, was the highest paid federal employee during the pandemic, earning more than both presidents and retiring with a government salary of approximately $481,000.
Additionally, Dr. Fauci received the highest federal retirement package awarded in the history of the U.S. government.
His pension the first year alone is estimated to have exceeded $414,000, and that amount is expected to exceed half a million dollars the following year.
We can discuss the ins and outs of how a guy who has been on the taxpayers’ payroll for so long managed to amass such a fortune another time; that’s an entire article unto itself. In the meantime, there’s no reason to lose any sleep over Anthony Fauci. If he feels he needs a bodyguard, he can afford one – no need for the American taxpayers to pick up his tab. After all, the preemptive pardon he received from the outgoing President Joe Biden (remember Joe Biden? He was supposedly president for a while) will save Dr. Fauci from the necessity of hiring a bunch of lawyers for any possible legal action taken against him.
