Dr. Anthony Fauci’s dream of being immortalized in a government-funded museum exhibit just got torpedoed. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officially scrapped a $168,000 taxpayer-funded tribute to the former COVID czar, as part of a broader effort to rein in wasteful government spending.
In total, the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration slashed $182 million in federal contracts last week—none of which were tied to healthcare programs, but rather administrative bloat. DOGE, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, is tasked with cutting government waste and rooting out corruption that flourished under the previous administration.
“In the past 48 hours, HHS canceled 62 contracts worth $182 million. These contracts were entirely for administrative expenses—none touched any healthcare programs. This included terminating a $168,000 contract for an Anthony Fauci exhibit at the NIH Museum,” DOGE announced on X.
In the past 48 hours, HHS canceled 62 contract worth $182 million. These contracts were entirely for administrative expenses – none touched any healthcare programs. This included terminating a $168,000 contract for an Anthony Fauci exhibit at the NIH Museum. pic.twitter.com/EsZxflPS6w
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 7, 2025
Taxpayer Cash for Fauci’s Ego? Not Anymore
The scrapped museum exhibit was set to be displayed at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland. Fauci, once hailed as America’s top infectious disease expert, spent decades at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but his reputation took a massive hit after his mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, flip-flopping on mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccine effectiveness.
And let’s not forget his role in funding dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology—the very lab in the city where the virus originated. Emails revealed that a Fauci-backed grant through EcoHealth Alliance quietly resumed funding risky coronavirus research in China, using what one report described as a “secret back channel.” When grilled by Congress, Fauci repeatedly dodged and denied involvement, claiming he didn’t “recall any specific interaction.”
Trump Ends Fauci’s Government Perks
Last month, President Donald Trump pulled the plug on Fauci’s post-retirement security detail, marking another step in stripping away taxpayer-funded perks for the scandal-ridden bureaucrat.
“When you work for government, at some point your security detail comes off,” Trump explained. “You can’t have them forever.”
Fauci’s allies scrambled before Biden left office to shield him from prosecution, leading to a highly controversial preemptive pardon issued by Biden in one of his final acts as president. The move came as Democrats feared Trump’s Justice Department would hold Fauci accountable for his pandemic-era policies and misleading statements before Congress.
NIH Slashes Funding for Bureaucratic Waste
In addition to nuking Fauci’s museum tribute, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) also announced sweeping reforms to its grant process, vowing to cut $4 billion in wasteful spending every year.
“Last year, $9 billion of the $35 billion that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) granted for research was used for administrative overhead, what is known as ‘indirect costs,’” NIH posted on X.
Effective immediately, the Trump administration has capped how much research institutions can pocket for administrative overhead at 15%—a drastic reduction from the insane 60%+ rates some institutions were charging under Biden.
Libs’ Gravy Train is Over
Trump and his team are making it clear: the D.C. bureaucratic machine is being dismantled, one wasteful project at a time. The Fauci museum exhibit is just the latest casualty in a broader mission to restore fiscal sanity, expose corruption, and hold unelected officials accountable for their actions.
As for Fauci? His golden days of taxpayer-funded glorification are over.
