(Headline USA) Dr. Scott Atlas, a medical adviser to President Donald Trump who was skeptical of some measures to control the coronavirus outbreak, is leaving his White House post.
A White House official confirmed that the Stanford University neuroradiologist resigned at the end of his temporary government assignment.
Atlas confirmed the news in a Monday evening tweet.
Atlas joined the White House this summer, where he provided a counter-opinion to aggressive lockdown measures advocated by government scientists including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, taking into consideration other factors and potential harms to health and the economy, as opposed to solely and obsessively focusing on the infectious disease.
Atlas has broken with government “experts” — such as those with the Centers for Disease Control, whose advisories constantly change and contradict themselves — to criticize efforts to encourage face covering to slow the spread of the virus.
Just weeks ago on Twitter he responded to Michigan’s latest virus restrictions by encouraging people to “rise up” against the state’s oppressive policies.
His views prompted Stanford to issue a statement distancing itself from the faculty member, saying Atlas “has expressed views that are inconsistent with the university’s approach in response to the pandemic.”
“We support using masks, social distancing, and conducting surveillance and diagnostic testing,” the university said Nov. 16. “We also believe in the importance of strictly following the guidance of local and state health authorities.”
Atlas defended his role in his resignation letter, saying, “I cannot think of a time where safeguarding science and the scientific debate is more urgent.”
Atlas was hired as a “special government employee,” which limited his service to government to 130 days in a calendar year — a deadline he reached this week.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
