Fauci was among the health advisers on Trump’s team encouraging a continuation of the current guidelines after the President heard from business leaders and some conservative allies that the restrictions were more damaging than the virus itself.

In fact, Trump’s decision to extend those guidelines came after Fauci and Birx gave a strong presentation with the new models that showed 100,000 to 200,000 people could die, a source familiar with the President’s decision told CNN.

“You don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline,” Fauci told CNN last month when asked about how long the novel coronavirus could affect daily life in the US.