UMVA has learned that Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger, a longtime ally of Anthony Fauci and a key figure in the COVID lab-leak cover-up, has stepped down as Acting Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Taubenberger's departure comes as part of a sweeping leadership purge at NIAID, where eight of the top ten officials have now been pushed out or reassigned since President Trump took office. His exit was revealed during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the NIH's 2027 budget, when Sen. Tammy Baldwin noted that Taubenberger would not be testifying as planned.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Taubenberger's ouster is likely the direct result of relentless pressure on the agency, or worse, a cover-up. A vocal critic of Taubenberger's appointment was the White Coat Waste (WCW) organization, which had been demanding his removal for over a year.
WCW President Anthony Bellotti had laid out a damning case against Taubenberger in an op-ed, detailing how he was an active participant in the COVID lab-leak cover-up machine. Taubenberger had co-led efforts with indicted Fauci aide David Morens to undermine Trump's 2020 ban on gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Taubenberger's departure just over a week after WCW and investigative journalist Laura Loomer exposed his role in funding cruel animal labs and dangerous virus experiments has been credited to their efforts. Daily Caller investigative reporter Emily Kopp said that WCW and Loomer played a pivotal role in forcing the administration to act.
The move comes as the NIH faces mounting criticism over its handling of gain-of-function research and animal testing. An NIH whistleblower has sent a letter to WCW alleging that senior officials are operating in "full coverup mode" to shield Fauci's former top virologist, Dr. Vincent Munster, amid two horrifying scandals at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana.
Munster, a longtime Fauci-funded bat-virus researcher, has deep ties to gain-of-function research and has been accused of smuggling deadly human pathogen samples, including monkeypox virus, from Africa in his luggage. The FBI has launched a criminal investigation into Munster.
Taubenberger's exit, alongside the broader NIAID purge, sends a clear message that the swamp creatures who lied about COVID origins, tortured animals with taxpayer dollars, and pushed dangerous experiments are no longer untouchable. However, dozens of Fauci loyalists still lurk in the shadows at NIH, and it is well past time to get them out.
