Dr Scott Atlas has resigned as special adviser to President Donald Trump, a White House official said on Monday, after a controversial four months during which he clashed repeatedly with other members of the coronavirus task force.
In this file photo taken in September, White House Covid-19 adviser Dr Scott Atlas speaks on testing in the Rose Garden of the White House. Photo: AFP or licensors
"I am writing to resign from my position as special adviser to the president of the United States," Atlas said in a letter to Trump dated 1 December, according to Fox News, which first reported his resignation.
Atlas was considered a special government employee on a 130-day detail that expires this week.
Atlas, a neuroradiologist, apologized on Twitter this month for giving an interview to Russia's Kremlin-backed television station RT, saying he was unaware it was a registered foreign agent in the United States.
Atlas has been sharply criticised by public health experts, including Anthony Fauci, the leading US infectious disease expert, for providing Trump with misleading or incorrect information on the virus pandemic.
He has repeatedly downplayed the importance of face masks and this month said lockdowns had been "an epic failure" in stopping the spread of the virus.
His views on the handling of the pandemic have been denounced by peers at Stanford University's medical school and elsewhere.
- Reuters