President Fauci is a bad Joeke

President Biden drew nervous laughter Thursday by joking that Dr. Anthony Fauci actually is the president.

“I’ve seen more of Dr. Fauci than I have my wife. We kid each other. But — hey look, who’s president? Fauci,” Biden said. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is Biden’s chief medical adviser and a divisive figure among Republicans.

“Dr. Fauci as president: That’s not a joke, that’s a nightmare to so many Americans,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told Fox News shortly after Biden’s remarks. “I mean, when did Dr. Fauci ever put his name on a ballot and run for office and get elected by we, the people? But yet, he has complete authority.”

Trump White House aides faulted Fauci for encouraging the public not to wear face masks early in the pandemic, while Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have requested the doc be investigated for allegedly lying to Congress about his agency’s funding of gainof-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. US spy agencies say it’s “plausible” that COVID-19 leaked from that lab.

In addition to announcing new international travel rules that will require air passengers to the US to test negative within one day of their flight, Biden on Thursday also announced plans to mandate that health-insurance companies cover the cost of at-home coronavirus rapid tests that typically cost more than $20 at retailers such as

CVS Pharmacy.

Biden additionally urged Americans to get children age 5 and up vaccinated and to get adult COVID-19 booster shots to beat back an anticipated cold-weather increase in cases. Steven Nelson