Politics
Dr. Fauci clashes with Republican Sen. Rand Paul, calls another senator a 'moron' on a hot mic
Fauci and Paul have clashed repeatedly during the pandemic at Senate hearings, but this one ... was especially contentious
January 12, 2022 4:23pm
Updated: January 12, 2022 6:57pm
Dr. Anthony Fauci got into many heated exchanges at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, accusing Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) of agitating hostility towards him and calling Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) a “moron” on a hot mic.
Fauci and Paul have clashed repeatedly during the pandemic at Senate hearings, but this one before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, and Pensions was especially contentious.
Specifically, Fauci directly accused Paul of fomenting violence against him by lying about COVID statistics, saying it was why “I have threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children with obscene phone calls.”
He pointed to a California man who was arrested on his way to Washington, D.C. with an alleged “hit list” that had Fauci’s name on it and implied it was because of Paul’s antagonism.
“They found in his car an AR-15 and multiple magazines of ammunition,” said the White House chief medical advisor, “because he thinks that maybe I’m killing people.
“So I asked myself, ‘Why would a senator want to do this?’ So [I] go to [the] Rand Paul website,” said Fauci, brandishing a sheaf of computer printouts, “and you see ‘Fire Dr. Fauci,’ with a little box that says ‘Contribute here.’ And you can do $5, $10, $20, $100."
Rep. Paul is a licensed physician and ophthalmologist who has performed eye surgery for 18 years. He graduated from Duke University Medical School in 1988.
The Kentucky senator fired back that more had died from COVID under the Biden administration than Trump’s, which he said was due to Fauci’s hubris wielding the law
“A planner who believes he is the science leads to an arrogance that justifies in his mind using government resources to smear and to destroy the reputations of other scientists who disagree with them,” said Paul, referring to documents showing Fauci and then-National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins helped unfairly malign the authors of the anti-lockdown Great Barrington Declaration.
Fauci also called Sen. Marshall a “moron” into a hot mic after the Kansas senator pressed him on financial disclosures.
A Fauci spokesperson was not able to produce any financial disclosures, despite the doctor’s claims they were public.
