Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, announced Tuesday that she will retire from government service after President-elect Joe Biden takes office, the New York Times reports.
Birx came under fire for appearing to ingratiate herself to now-lame duck president Donald Trump, at one point failing to speak up as Trump publicly advocated for the injection of disinfectants as an effective measure to combat the coronavirus; such injections would be harmful, if not fatal, to people.
Recently, Birx faced claims of hypocrisy for telling people to isolate during the Thanksgiving holiday, while she and her family met at a vacation home in Delaware. Birx stated that the various families were part of her long-term support system and that they traveled to Delaware to prepare a vacation home for sale.
Birx started her government career in the 1980s as an immunologist in the Army, serving at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; she maintains the rank of colonel in the Army. She also worked as a research fellow in the CDC lab headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
She joined the White House coronavirus in February as Vice President Mike Pence formed the Administration’s coronavirus response team.