Dr. Fauci: 'Obvious' It Would Better to Start Transition

The stalled transition amid a contested election might ultimately squeeze the U.S. coronavirus task force response handoff by a few weeks, if not a month, according to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday.

"That's obvious, of course it would be better if we could start working with them," Fauci told CNN's "State of the Union," offering his time on national media yet again in lieu of true task force work.

President Donald Trump has yet to concede the election, posing legal challenges and recounts in a number of battleground states, while the global coronavirus pandemic delivers all-time daily highs of COVID-19 infections amid mass testing campaigns throughout the U.S.

With the massive outbreaks, the coronavirus task force is conceivably already working at max intensity, and critics might argue splitting time dealing with theoretics would not be as productive, particularly amid an Operation Warp Speed vaccine rollout in the works.

Still, Fauci would like to see a transition in briefing and working with Biden's own task force.

"I've been through multiple transitions now, having served six presidents for 36 years," Fauci told host Jake Tapper. "It's very clear that that transition process that we go through, that time, that period measured in several weeks and months, is really important in a smooth handing-over of the information.

"It's almost like passing a baton in a race. You don't want to stop and then give it to somebody. You want to just essentially keep going — and that is what transition is, so it certainly would make things go more smoothly if we could do that."

Fauci added Trump has not attended a White House coronavirus task force briefing in "months," although noting the leader of the panel is Vice President Mike Pence, who then briefs the president.

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