Trump strips former COVID czar Fauci of security detail

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that he terminated Dr. Anthony Fauci's security detail, denying that he would have any responsibility if harm were to befall the man he once tapped to lead the nation's COVID-19 response.

"When you work for government, at some point your security detail comes off, and you know you can't have them forever," Trump said, referring to the security team that was assigned to Fauci. "You can't have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government."

Trump said Fauci and other US officials who have lost their security teams this week at Trump's direction "all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security too."

"All the people you're talking about, they can go out, I can give them some good numbers of very good security people. They can hire their own security. They all made a lot of money. Fauci made a lot of money," he said. "Certainly I would not take responsibility."

Fauci, like many of those who were stripped of their security teams this week, worked for Trump during his first administration, but have had a falling out with the president.