(NewsNation Now) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s chief infectious disease expert, says there was never a question that he would accept President-elect Joe Biden’s offer to serve as his chief medical officer and adviser on the coronavirus pandemic.
Fauci told NBC’s “Today” show on Friday, “I said yes right on the spot” after Biden asked him to serve during a conversation on Thursday.
As the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci has served several presidents, Republican and Democratic.
The president-elect asked Fauci to stay on in his administration, “in the exact same role he’s had for the past several presidents,” as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci has served both Republican and Democratic presidents in the past.
Biden also asked Fauci to be a “chief medical adviser” as well as part of his COVID-19 advisory team.
Fauci has urged rigorous mask-wearing and social distancing as part of the Trump administration’s White House coronavirus task force.
Friday, Fauci said he expects to see another spike in infections two or three weeks after the Nov. 26 Thanksgiving holiday, when many Americans traveled to visit family, and feared Christmas shopping and parties would fuel another spike.
On Thursday, Biden said he will ask Americans to commit to 100 days of wearing masks as one of his first acts as president.
“I told him I thought that was a good idea,” Fauci told NBC.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
