By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Pew PatriotsPew PatriotsPew Patriots
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Reading: NIH principal deputy director, who led agency during COVID, resigns abruptly
Share
Font ResizerAa
Pew PatriotsPew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
NIH principal deputy director, who led agency during COVID, resigns abruptly
News

NIH principal deputy director, who led agency during COVID, resigns abruptly

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: February 13, 2025 4:06 pm
Jimmie Dempsey Published February 13, 2025
Share
SHARE

The No. 2 in command at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, who served as acting director of the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, has abruptly resigned. 

Tabak, 73, has been at the NIH for 25 years, first serving as director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research before eventually becoming the NIH’s principal deputy director in 2010, which is the second-in-command at the agency. Tabak also served during transitional periods as acting director, including during the COVID era when he was regularly grilled by Republicans, alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci, over the NIH’s response.

“I write to inform you that I have retired from government service, effective today, 2/11/2025,” Tabak wrote in an email, reportedly circulated to staff at the NIH, earlier this week. The note did not explain the reason for his departure.  

SENATE DEMOCRATS RAIL AGAINST RFK JR. IN LATE-NIGHT SESSION AHEAD OF VOTE

Tabak’s resignation comes amid a shakeup within the Health and Human Services Department, the NIH’s parent agency, that occurred once President Donald Trump took office in January. Under Trump, the agency has faced cuts to programs and reports have indicated the administration has plans to fire a trove of HHS employees. Typically, Tabak would have been promoted to acting director while Trump’s nominee awaited confirmation. However, the position was instead assigned to Dr. Matthew Memoli, a former top researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a known critic of COVID vaccine mandates.

Tabak was part of a group of agency leaders, including Fauci and former NIH Director Francis Collins, who congressional investigators accused of trying to manipulate the narrative around the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Through GOP investigations, it was determined Tabak was part of a controversial phone call with Fauci, Collins and several prominent scientists that critics have argued was a catalyst for the publication of a scientific paper that was released positing that it was not plausible the virus originated in a lab. 

SCIENTISTS EXPECT MAJOR ‘MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS’ DESPITE TRUMP’S CAP ON NIH RESEARCH FUNDING

The façade of the Wuhan Institute of Virology

He was also front-and-center when it came to GOP probes into whether risky gain-of-function research was occurring at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, and faced criticism for slow-rolling the release of information requested by Republican investigators for these concerns.

Tabak “[dealt] with all of the messy or intractable problem[s]” and was “often… the fall guy when things [went] sideways,” Jeremy Berg, former director of NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, said on social media following news of Tabak’s resignation. “Larry has shoveled so much s— over the years that he would have been well qualified to work behind the elephants in an old circus.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the NIH for comment but did not receive a response by publication time. 

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

Liberal pundits dub Washington Post’s latest opinion shake-up a ‘terrible tragedy,’ slam Jeff Bezos

Serbian lawmakers throw smoke grenades, tear gas in parliament

Ex-NFL star Adrian Peterson has warrants out for arrest: report

Trump posts ‘how it’s going’ message contrasting Time Person of the Year cover with mugshot

Vice President JD Vance reveals where things ‘broke apart’ during Trump-Zelenskyy blowup at the White House

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Recommend
On 81st anniversary of D-Day, one US Navy veteran’s son is the first American Pope
News

On 81st anniversary of D-Day, one US Navy veteran’s son is the first American Pope

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 7, 2025
Kristin Cavallari’s friend exposes her date with ‘Top Gun’ star Glen Powell
Hundreds of teenagers transform peaceful beach into chaos as police forced to break up fights
Pakistan’s Digital Crackdown: How Geofencing and ID Blacklists are Silencing Dissent
Third Navy destroyer heads to southern waters as administration strengthens maritime border security
Snub of Musk’s NASA nominee ally preceded sudden ‘big, beautiful bill’ criticism, Trump feud
‘Unite for Vets’ rally calls for Trump to abandon planned cuts at VA
Tactical

‘Unite for Vets’ rally calls for Trump to abandon planned cuts at VA

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 6, 2025
After being forced to compete with a male athlete, this Minnesota softball player is fighting back: EXCLUSIVE
News

After being forced to compete with a male athlete, this Minnesota softball player is fighting back: EXCLUSIVE

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 6, 2025
Defibrillator installed on Everest winds up saving climber’s life just weeks later
News

Defibrillator installed on Everest winds up saving climber’s life just weeks later

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 6, 2025
Pew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
  • Guns and Gear
2024 © Pew Patriots. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?