Deborah Birx was not approached by the Biden team

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While not commenting publicly on what her future plans might involve, Birx has privately expressed interest in retaining her current role as coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, or a similar position in a government. led by Biden.

On Monday morning, Biden announced the members of his new coronavirus task force and outlined his plans to fight the virus as the number of cases continues to rise across the United States. Despite the challenges of a worrying winter season and what promises to be a complicated presidential transition, Birx has told friends that she is not keen on giving up her civil servant career and entering the corporate world, which could definitely be an option.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. The Biden team declined to comment.

Birx has been a government employee since 1980 when she joined the military shortly after receiving her medical degree, and is now one of the nation’s top immunologists.

A major caveat that could prevent Biden from contacting Birx so far involves that the new administration must obtain permission from the current administration if it wishes to formally employ or approach anyone in the executive branch or any federal position.

Biden cannot technically move to form a government using current federal employees before his inauguration in January, unless President Donald Trump grants him permission to do so. Trump did not concede to Biden or publicly accept his loss. The president continues to question the election results without merit.

Dr Anthony Fauci, another infectious disease expert on the task force, said on Monday he “would rather not talk about all this” when asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer if he was in contact with Biden since becoming president-elect. .

When asked if he would stay in his current role once Biden is inaugurated in January, Fauci said, “I have no plans to leave. … I am doing it under six presidents, c ‘is important work and my goal is to serve the American public, regardless of administration. ”

Fauci described Biden’s transition team as being “all established people” and “qualified colleagues” who “I have been dealing with for years and years,” adding that “I know them well – whoever is. on the ground knows it. “

In recent months, Birx has not been in the White House as much as she was in the early days of the pandemic, choosing instead to travel the country and talk about best practices for preventing Covid-19 nationally and local.

The desire to hit the road has been spurred by intense clashes with Dr Scott Atlas, doctor Trump recently leaned on to receive his information about the coronavirus – much of it unsupported by scientific evidence.

Birx vowed in August to never be face-to-face with Atlas again, whose medical opinions she vehemently opposes on Covid-19.

Although his visual presence alongside Trump at press briefings has waned – as have the briefings themselves – someone who has known Birx for more than a decade says his association with the current administration may be too strong for the news to keep it going. , despite his desire to stay.

The source recalled, however, that if anyone could make a delicate transition, it is Birx, who rose from senior positions in the administration of George W. Bush to those of Barack Obama before the current administration.

This story has been updated to include comments from Dr Anthony Fauci.

CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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