Former White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx is speaking out about her time under the Trump administration.
CBS’s Margaret Brennan asked Birx in an interview set to air on Sunday if she ever considered quitting.
“Always. I mean, why would you want to put yourself through that every day?” Birx said.
She added, “Colleagues of mine that I had known for decades, decades, in that one experience, because I was in the White House, decided that I had become this political person, even though they had known me forever. I had to ask myself every morning, is there something that I think I can do that would be helpful in responding to this pandemic? And it’s something I asked myself every night.“
Watch her remarks below:
WATCH: @margbrennan: "Did you ever consider quitting?"
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 22, 2021
Birx: "Always…I had to ask myself every morning: is there something that I think I can do that would be helpful in responding to this pandemic?"
More on Sunday's @FaceTheNation on @CBS https://t.co/7fk9mlPpvJ pic.twitter.com/qh380bdpcF
She claimed she “wasn’t getting anywhere” before the election and she wrote a plan on what needed to happen the day after the election.
Brennan clarified with Birx, “Because you knew at that point that the election was a factor in communication about the virus?”
Birx replied, “Yes.”
Brennan asked Birx if she ever withheld information.
“No,” Birx answered.
In December, Birx announced her retirement after she received backlash for traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend and reportedly seeing family, as IJR reported.
“I want the Biden administration to be successful,” Birx said. “I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in, and then I will retire.”
Birx explained the effects the criticism had on her family.
“This experience has been a bit overwhelming. It’s been very difficult on my family. I think what was done in the last week to my family, you know they didn’t choose this for me,” Birx said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised Americans against traveling for Thanksgiving and urged them to celebrate at home with those they live with.