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By The Washington Post 
12h ago
Paulina Villegas
Washington – The tension had been building for months. It was no secret to anyone that the relationship between the country’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and President Donald Trump had turned sour when they clashed over the White House response to the now-current coronavirus pandemic. more than 230,000 Americans have been killed.
Then came Sunday’s campaign rally in South Florida, where the frantic crowd chanted, “Fire Fauci! Fire Fauci!” prompting a surprising response from the president who suggested he could do that.
“Don’t tell anyone, but let me wait until a little after the election,” Trump told supporters. “I appreciate the advice.”
The not-so-subtle threat has raised questions and concerns about the plausibility of Trump firing the country’s popular health expert and whether the president has the legal authority to do so.
In short, it does not.
Technically, the president of the United States cannot directly fire Fauci, say via tweet, mainly because he is not a political appointee. As a federal career employee and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, Fauci is protected by federal civil service regulations that protect him from being fired or demoted for political reasons.
Fauci could be removed, but it would involve a complicated process with civil service protections that requires the government agency to provide evidence that there is just cause for the firing, including noncompliance with orders or misconduct.
The process to remove him would have to be initiated by someone in Fauci’s chain of command, such as the director of the National Institutes of Health or the secretary of Health and Human Services, which is highly unlikely because he is an esteemed figure in science. and medical communities.
However, if that were the case, Fauci would need to be notified of what the allegation was and then would have the opportunity to respond and present evidence to the Merit Systems Board of Protection that such action was not justified. You could also appeal the board’s decision in court.
While these rules are still in effect, a controversial executive order issued by Trump two weeks ago could remove these long-standing service protections from tens of thousands of public officials, facilitating their removal with little cause or recourse.
Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, whose district includes more than 80,000 federal workers, said the order is intended to “send a clear message that conscious dissent will not be tolerated” and could target people like Fauci.
“Trump clearly sees one of his top priorities if he is re-elected as a settler with public officials like Dr. Fauci, whom he considers insufficiently loyal,” Beyer told The Washington Post.
Trump’s suggestion to fire Fauci came after the expert gave grim warnings of what is possible in the coming months, including rising coronavirus cases that could exceed 100,000 per day.
“We are very hurt. It is not a good situation,” Fauci told the Washington Post on Friday.
“All the stars are lined up in the wrong place as the fall and winter season wears on, with people gathering at home, indoors. I can’t possibly be in a worse position.”
Fauci also pointed to the government’s response, saying the only way to reverse the current surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths was for the nation to make an “abrupt change” in public health practices and behaviors.
In a statement to The Post, White House spokesman Judd Deere criticized Fauci’s remarks.
“It is unacceptable and it is breaking all the rules that Dr. Fauci, a senior member of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force and someone who has praised President Trump’s actions during this pandemic, chooses three days before an election to play to politics, “Deere told The Post on Saturday.
As the pandemic emerged in the spring and the public was eager for answers and guidance, Fauci, who has vast experience in preventing and treating infectious diseases such as HIV / AIDS, Ebola, and Zika, and has Advised six presidents, he quickly became a highly visible member of the White House coronavirus task force.
In October, Fauci was named Federal Employee of the Year during the Samuel J Heyman Medals of Service to the United States, better known as Sammies, a high distinction for outstanding government workers.
His popularity soared after Brad Pitt impersonated him on “Saturday Night Live.”
But as Covid-19 continued to spread, Fauci’s direct and critical comments often disagreed or diverged from the president’s on a wide range of issues, from the severity and duration of the outbreak to advice on experimental treatments and state shutdowns. .
As tensions mounted, the White House sidelined Fauci, shutting him out of the Oval Office for weeks at a time and with almost no direct contact with the president, a departure from earlier in the year when Fauci used to report to the president daily. .
Fauci’s fate has become a talking point on both campaigns’ agendas, as well as a reflection of the surprisingly different approaches of the candidates to the pandemic.
On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden mocked Trump’s threats:
“I have a better idea,” Biden said during his campaign rally in Cleveland. “Choose me and I’m going to hire Dr. Fauci! And we’re going to fire Donald Trump!”
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