Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has revoked over $180 million in contracts from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including approximately $170,000 earmarked for a museum exhibit dedicated to Dr. Anthony Fauci. The move has ignited debate over government spending, Dr. Fauci’s legacy, and DOGE’s role in reshaping the federal government.

DOGE cites administrative expenses

In a social media post on Friday, DOGE announced the termination of 62 contracts at HHS within a 48-hour period. “These contacts 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 stated on X.

Fauci’s controversial legacy

Fauci’s legacy has been tarnished by the COVID-19 limitations he helped implement, including mask mandates, social distancing, and vaccine requirements that led to the dismissal of military personnel.

Gain-of-function research controversy

Fauci was also accused of misleading Congress about U.S. funding for gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China, where the virus is believed to have originated.

During a Senate hearing in May 2021, Fauci stated that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases “never and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology”.

However, emails revealed that Dr. Francis Collins, head of the NIH, Fauci, and Dr. Peter Daszak, head of EcoHealth Alliance, acknowledged in February 2020 that Wuhan University researchers were conducting gain-of-function experiments to investigate bat viruses’ ability to adapt to human infection before the Wuhan outbreak. Fauci expressed concern in one email that COVID may have been genetically modified and that Wuhan was conducting gain-of-function experiments before the pandemic.