Fauci testifying before the Senate HELP Committee in 2021. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty Images
Former NIAID director Anthony Fauci is returning to the Hill today and tomorrow for a two-day interview with the House's COVID Select Subcommittee about the pandemic's origins and the government response.
- It's the first time Fauci will be appearing before Congress since he retired, and the subcommittee says it's planning for a 14-hour transcribed interview.
- A subcommittee spokesperson said topics to be covered include efforts to downplay the theory COVID-19 escaped from a lab, misleading public narratives about natural immunity and therapeutics, conflicting positions on mask mandates, and explaining the "science" behind lockdowns and social closures.
- "Staff and Members have prepared more than 200 pages of questions and approximately 100 exhibits related to Dr. Fauci's role as the face of America's COVID-19 public health response," subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup in a statement.
Panel Republicans have charged that Fauci knew the coronavirus was lab-engineered, but decided to push a narrative that it was an animal spillover event. Democrats have said the focus of the investigation should not be on Fauci and urged lawmakers not to villainize public health officials.
