A controversial museum exhibit honoring Dr. Anthony Fauci has been shut down after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered it as an example of unnecessary government spending. The project, which was set to cost taxpayers nearly $170,000, was one of 62 contracts eliminated as part of a larger cost-cutting initiative by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The exhibit, planned for the National Museum of Health and Medicine, was intended to highlight Fauci’s government career, despite his role in pushing policies that led to sweeping COVID-19 restrictions. The spending was quietly approved before DOGE identified and shut it down, along with other wasteful contracts amounting to $182 million.
Elon Musk, who has taken the lead at DOGE, made it clear that taxpayer money should not be used for projects that serve no direct benefit to the public. He pointed out that while struggling Americans are still dealing with the fallout from pandemic-era policies, Washington was moving forward with plans to fund an exhibit for one of the most controversial figures of the last decade.
The decision to cancel the exhibit comes shortly after President Donald Trump revoked Fauci’s taxpayer-funded security detail, ending another government expense linked to the former health official.
Adding to the controversy, multiple state attorneys general have launched an investigation into Fauci’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though Biden’s pardon protects him from federal charges, state-level inquiries remain ongoing.
DOGE has pledged to continue reviewing government budgets for excessive spending, with the Fauci museum exhibit being just one of many projects now on the chopping block.
