Dr. Deborah Birx, the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said that she “always” thought about quitting the Trump team due to the management issues of the administration, Politico reports.
“I mean, why would you want to put yourself through that every day?” Birx said in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Colleagues of mine that I had known for decades — decades — in that one experience, because I was in the White House, decided that I had become this political person, even though they had known me forever.”
Birx’s most infamous moment was when Trump suggested from the podium of the White House briefing room that people could possibly inject disinfectants to kill the coronavirus, looking over at her for confirmation that that was a strategy for fighting the coronavirus.
In the interview, Birx said the response to the coronavirus pandemic was unduly politicized in the Trump administration, which made her and her role far more contentious than she would have preferred, with the White House ignoring recommendations from public health professionals and scientists in favor of Trump’s whims or partisan wishes.
After 41 years in military or public service, Birx will retire in six weeks after helping with the Biden Administration transition.