Okay, I found it at a source. It was way before COVID. It was back in early 2016.
I suspect that by the summer of 2020, Trump regretted that decision. Trump did bring in Atlas in the summer of 2020. And of course Trump became a lame duck by November 2020.
Atlas details it all in his book, where he refers to Trump as literally scared of Fauci and completely submissive. According to all reports Trump even quit coming to the meetings in April 2020. With no support from Trump, Atlas only lasted a few months after joining before resigning himself.
https://stanfordreview.org/a-plague-upon-our-house-by-scott-atlas-book-review/
Atlas would’ve been so good.