Dr. Anthony Fauci is the federal government's top-paid employee, and was paid $18,000 more than Trump in 2019

• Fauci earned $417,608 in 2019, according to OpenTheBooks – a rise of $18,000 from the year before.
• A spokeswoman for the National Institutes of Health told Insider in December his current salary was $434,312 per year.
• This means he earns more than the president, who has a salary of $400,000.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has the highest salary of all federal government employees in the US.

He even earns more than the president.

The nation's top infectious diseases expert, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), earned $417,608 in 2019, the most recent year the data is available for, per a Freedom of Information Act request by OpenTheBooks.

This was a rise of nearly $18,000 from the year before.

According to the data from OpenTheBooks, three federal employees, including Fauci, earned higher salaries than President Donald Trump in 2019. All were doctors working for the Department Of Health And Human Services (HHS).

Forbes first reported the news.

A spokeswoman for the National Institutes of Health told Insider in December his salary was $434,312 per year.

The president, in comparison, earns $400,000 a year, though the office has many other financial perks, including being able to live in the White House, access to a plane and helicopter, and premier health insurance.

Read more: Here's how much Washington power players from Mark Meadows Nancy Pelosi and AOC get paid every year.

Fauci will remain director of the NIAID under President Joe Biden's administration, and will also take on the role of chief medical officer.

He has led the NIAID since 1984 and has helped tackle the AIDS, Zika, and Ebola epidemics. He has dozens of honorary doctoral degrees and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his leadership during the AIDS crisis - but it's his response to the coronavirus pandemic that has propelled him into the spotlight.

In his role as head of the NIAID, it's not uncommon for him to work a 20-hour day.