New Covid task force to be announced Mon. Will Fauci be leading it and

[mobeau69]

will the loser fire him immediately afterwards?

[SheltieLover]

1. I did not see Fauci's name on the list

2 other drs co-leading.

[mobeau69]

6. Why Wouldn't Fauci be the logical pick?

[Squinch]

8. Though I think Fauci did as well as he could, his association with the Trump "efforts"

makes him a bad pick, in my opinion.

Though I think he tried to tell us the truth, for a long time he was trying to walk the line of telling the truth and not being fired. So for a long time, I think he told the truth but not the whole truth, and that has hurt us. He is more vocal now, but he hasn't always been.

New faces, new expertise, no association whatsoever with the sick and moronic policies of the administration of Donny Bodybags.

[mobeau69]

9. Good points.

[Joedog]

13. Fauci has been a true professional

He was called upon by the present administration and he served as a Scientist not a political hack and everything he advocated was tied to data. He is in no way tainted by doing his job which was to serve the best interests of public health. Biden has already mentioned he wants Fauci playing a big role in fighting the virus. I think that is a sound decision considering about seventy percent of the public approve of him and his work.

[Squinch]

16. Those moments when he grimaced or put his head in his hand? Those were moments

when he let idiotic and damaging comments go without saying anything. I understand, as I say, that he was walking the tightrope and had little choice: "If I correct this idiocy, I'll be fired and then will have no more standing to make a difference in the virus response."

As I say, under the circumstances, I think he did the best anyone could. But because of the way he had to deal with those moments, I don't think he's right to be the face of the effort going forward. A substantial role? Definitely. But he is not the one who should be the outward facing expert.

[Joedog]

32. He may not have said anything at the time but later in interviews he would speak his mind

[Joedog]

33. Hard for me to imagine anyone with more cred than Fauci

[SheltieLover]

12. Not sure

Maybe because he is still working for the russian asset & wants to keep his name out of it for now?

Or, maybe he will consult?

I expected to see his name too!

[still_one]

23. Except for three people, that list has not been released as far as I am aware.

[NutmegYankee]

34. He probably can't do so as a federal employee

Once Biden is sworn in, he can.

[Sunsky]

28. Where can we find this list? nt

[Shermann]

2. I imagine the new role will come with a pay raise and the respect he deserves

...so zero fucks given regarding the old role.

Not to mention not having to deal with Dr. Atlas.

[dem4decades]

3. I would think he'd be an unofficial member for just that reason.

They'll obviously be coordinating with him. Let's not forget that 70 million people voted to fire Fauci. I can't believe our country is that screwed up.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. Fauci remains--for now--on the official task force

Even if Trump sacks him on the official task force I don’t know whether as a federal government employee he’d be allowed on the transition force.

I do think however the transition team will have plenty of dealing with Fauci whether he remains on the official task force or not, and I fully expect him to be leading the charge come January 20th.

[Hugin]

5. It may work the other way around...

Loser45 may fire him in a fit of pique(He's already in the Civil Service) and the task force could then pick him up.

We'll have to see what happens.

[Joedog]

18. He has no authority to fire him.

N/t

[SmartVoter22]

7. The more PhD's the better

PhD Degreed persons
Masters of Science Degree holding persons

Make it part of Homeland Security as a permanent, top-level group. Give them a massive budget.
Do not limit it to just pandemics, but all transmittable diseases that can affect more than 0.0025% of the US population (Thats about 17,500 per state).

The health of the nation is a national security concern.

[Tetrachloride]

10. I believe Dr Fauci is attempting to keep Trump's "justifications" to a mininum by not joining a ...

new taskforce. Therefore, if Trump wants to fire Dr. Fauci, Trump has less ammo.

[samnsara]

11. The name of the Dr was mentioned the other day and wasnt one I recognized...

[tulipsandroses]

14. It would be inappropriate to name him when he's still a part of the current administration

He's served many presidents. Provided that trump does not get rid of him, I'm sure he will still play a role in the new administration. He's director of NIH - which is under the Dept of Health. It would be very inappropriate for Biden to name people currently serving in this administration.

[DeminPennswoods]

15. Biden's task force will, for now, be people outside of the federal govt

Right now Fauci is still a career federal civil servant.

[ananda]

17. From Newsweek

Axios first reported that the 12-person task force will be led by three co-chairs: former surgeon general Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, David Kessler and Yale University's Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.

[WePurrsevere]

19. Dr Fauci is 79yrs old with more than enough years...

to retire and quite frankly I think he should (officially) before Trump pulls a stupid stunt and follows through with his threat to fire him (using his recently given to himself, via an EO, ability).

Biden can then bring him back as an advisor or such if he feels that would be helpful.

[Shermann]

20. Giving notice and retiring isn't good retirement advice for him

I say stick around long enough to get "the package".

[WePurrsevere]

21. So you think Trump will offer Fauci a 'package' when he fires him?

Apparently Trump recently signed an EO that will supposedly make it easier for him to do so...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/10/24/trump-new-executive-order-may-make-it-easier-to-fire-scientists-like-fauci/?sh=c637bc242520

Trump's a mean spirited vindictive POS and he now sees Fauci as disloyal. Quite frankly I'm amazed that Dr Fauci has stayed on as long as he has. With his credentials he certainly deserves to be treated with a whole lot more respect than Trump has given him.

[Shermann]

22. Hard to say really, depends on what if anything is in his employment contract nt

[WePurrsevere]

24. True. Hopefully his job is 'safe' from Trump...

Until he's ready to leave public service.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. Fauci is not a "contractor" but is a civil service employee

so there is no "contract".

Since he has been there so long and if he is a manager (with direct reports who he supervises) then he might be in a GM position (although many HHS agencies were sortof getting rid of that category and putting supervisors/managers under the GS classification but with a PD designating the position as being supervisory).

[BumRushDaShow]

26. See this--

What they’re saying about the new Schedule F
By Nicole Ogrysko @nogryskoWFED
October 26, 2020 1:00 am
5 min read

(snip)

So what’s next for this executive order?

If you’re enthusiastic about the changes or anxious by them, they’re not coming immediately. The order gives agencies a total of seven months to review and finalize what positions should be part of Schedule F.

The first deadline comes in less than three months on Jan. 19. Yes, that’s a day before Inauguration Day, but for now, the significance and meaning behind that date seems to end there. Then there’s the issue of how long this executive order may last, given the date on the calendar and the upcoming presidential election.

If the current administration wins a second term, expect House Democrats to try block it with some sort of legislation, probably attached to a major appropriations or defense policy bill. A few of them, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), have suggested they’re looking into the possibility.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping a potential Biden administration from implementing this order, though some former federal executives believe it would be dead-on-arrival with the former vice president.

Stay tuned.

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/mike-causey-federal-report/2020/10/what-theyre-saying-about-the-new-schedule-f/

Basically this E.O. is unmitigated bullshit and will be DOA when Biden is inaugurated.

As a 30+ year retired fed who has been through many changes in PDs (position descriptions) and several position re-classifications over those years (to modernize the duties), it takes a long time to do them because there may be many unique duties performed under certain job categories in a General Schedule position and per the above-linked article, it has been left up to each Department/agency to decide whether to attempt to implement this, for which positions, and how.

If anything, this was done as a terror tool, weaponizing the E.O. to circumvent the various Civil Service Acts enacted by Congress over many decades.

These types of E.O.s are drafted by the clueless to satisfy the clueless.

[WePurrsevere]

29. Oh good! Thanks! It would royally tick me if

Trump actually could fire Dr Fauci. He's earned the right, and some, to retire when he chooses to not when some petty wannabe tyrant fired him for doing his job correctly.

[BumRushDaShow]

31. He can't "fire" a civil service employee without cause

and certainly not because the chief executive "didn't like him".

If Fauci had been a political appointee (most commonly Schedule C), then yes. But otherwise unless Fauci violated some criminal statue, the President can't do some reality show "You're fired!" nonsense on him.

According to this, he is in a special HHS pay grade (most likely developed to retain him). These special pay classifications are often done for very specialized STEM positions, such as a physicians or legal positions (top lawyers), as an incentive to remain in the federal government (whereas had they been in private industry, they could potentially have made many times more in salary and benefits, although they try to go for something that is commensurate) - https://www.federalpay.org/employees/occupations/medical-officer

Common Medical Officer Payscales

Payscale Number of Medical Officer Employees

VM - Medical And Dental 17,260
AD - Administratively Determined Rates, Not E 9,754
GP - Gs Physicians And Dentists Paid Market 1,971
EI - Advisory Committee Member (other) 1,779
GS - General Schedule 1,231
RF - Code Is For Use By Hhs Only. 519

A federal CSRS employee (which he would be given he's been in federal service since 1968 and the later replacement FERS went into effect for new employees hired in the mid-'80s), "maxes out" on retirement benefits after 41 years, 11 months of creditable service. That means once they hit the 41 years, 11 months and retired, they would retire on 80% of their current salary. Working any longer will not increase that "80%" figure. So whatever positions/grades he's been in, he probably topped out over time and was reclassified with higher salaries, as a retention incentive.

If anything, his still being there is for the love of his role in public health and public service.

[Klaralven]

25. Looks like holdovers from the Obama adminstration

The task force is effectively an extension of the group of advisers who have briefed Biden and Harris on Covid-19 for months. The group includes David Kessler, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner; Vivek Murthy, the former surgeon general; and the Yale physician-researcher Marcella Nunez-Smith.

Biden has not yet named other task force members, but his campaign has received counsel from an array of well-known health policy figures in recent months, including Zeke Emanuel, the former Obama administration health adviser, and Nicole Lurie, the Obama administration’s assistant health secretary for preparedness and response.

Joshua Sharfstein, the former deputy FDA commissioner, is also seen as a contender to play a leading role in Biden’s Covid-19 response, and Ron Klain, the former Obama administration “Ebola czar,” is expected to play a major role in the Biden administration.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/07/biden-covid-19-task-force/

[SidDithers]

30. No, Fauci is still a federal employee...

He can't be on the Task Force until Biden is sworn in.

Unless Trump fires him, of course.

Sid

[Joedog]

35. Trump can't fire him