Dr. Birx Wants to Stay On to Help With Vaccine Rollout, But Biden Team Concerned Public Sees Her as a Trump Shill: AP

Like her coronavirus task force colleague Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx wants to continue fighting the pandemic after President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office in January. But unlike Fauci, Birx has not yet been offered a spot in the next administration, and it’s unclear that she ever will be.

According to the Associated Press, Birx has made it known that she wants to assist in the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. But some on the Biden transition team are said to be skeptical about keeping her on because they believe she has lost credibility with the public for being unwilling to challenge President Donald Trump.

In the early months of the pandemic, Birx was loath to cross Trump, doing so very infrequently and indirectly. She was criticized by a number of Democrats for her reluctance to correct Trump when he spread misinformation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ripped Birx for keeping silent during an April news conference at which Trump suggested injecting disinfectant to kill coronavirus.

“I don’t have confidence in anyone who stands there while the president says swallow Lysol,” Pelosi said in August.

But in recent months, Birx has been more willing to challenge the president. Trump, in turn, began openly criticizing her — and, like Fauci, she started to fade from the spotlight. Dr. Scott Atlas, who held wildly controversial positions on the pandemic, become the administration’s go-to expert.

Yet some members of the transition are unsure if Birx has redeemed herself in the eyes of critics, according to the AP. This despite the fact that she served in the Obama administration and has previously been spoken of highly by top Biden team members — including soon-to-be Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who once called Birx “great” and Biden climate envoy John Kerry, who lauded Birx during a speech in 2014.