Trump Ends Fauci’s Security Detail Amid Rising Threats

On Friday, President Trump defended his decision to remove Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security detail. He suggested that former government officials shouldn’t be given indefinite protection, even though Fauci and those he has removed protection from had received threats.

When you are employed by the government, your security detail will eventually be removed. You can’t keep them around forever. “I think it is very standard,” Trump said to reporters in North Carolina.

Asked if he would feel partially responsible if something were to happen to Fauci, Trump said he would not, adding that Fauci and others could hire private security.

“You know, they all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security, too,” Trump said. “Certainly I would not take responsibility.”

The New York Times was the first to report that Trump had terminated Fauci’s National Institutes of Health security detail.

Rand Paul, a Republican Senator from Kentucky, said on Thursday night that he sent “supporting info to end the 24-hour limo service and security detail provided for Fauci.”

Paul wrote on X: “I wish him peace, but he must pay for his limos.”

Fauci was the top infectious disease expert in the federal government for many years. During Trump’s first term, he was critical of Trump for his remarks about the coronavirus and faced intense scrutiny by Republicans. Death threats have also been made against the doctor.

Biden pardoned Fauci preemptively on his last day as president, citing fears about politically motivated investigations against the doctor.

Trump has already taken steps to terminate the security detail for John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Brian Hook. All three were granted extra protection due to threats from Iran.

Bolton has been a vocal critic of Trump. Pompeo briefly considered running for president in 2024. He has occasionally been vaguely critical of his former boss. However, he has endorsed Trump and has been harshly critical of Democrats.