During a tense conversation Tuesday, a disgruntled Anthony Fauci seemed to label U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan, a "moron," as Fauci addressed questions from legislators about his work on the country's COVID-19 response.
Marshall questioned Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a major health advisor to President Joe Biden, on his financial disclosure at a Senate Health Committee hearing. Fauci could be heard mumbling "what a stupid" in response to Marshall's inquiry as the tense exchange winded down and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, R-Kan, began asking a question.
During the questioning, Fauci was obviously irritated. He termed Marshall "misinformed" at the end of the debate for claiming Fauci had not revealed critical financial information.
Fauci's financial disclosure information is available through a Freedom of Information Act request since he is a public officer, but Marshall's team was unable to locate it. He cited Fauci's alleged compensation of almost $400,000, which he said made him the highest-paid federal employee.
In previous years, media sources such as the Center for Public Integrity could get Fauci's financial disclosure information. Marshall stated in a statement that Fauci "had a very stressful day" due to tough questions on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things, as per USA Today.
Fauci accuses Senator Paul of fueling threats against him
At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci chastised Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for encouraging death threats against him and his family for "political gain," after the Kentucky Republican accused Fauci personally for all COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S.
Paul launched a barrage of accusations against Fauci at the session, stating that the infectious disease specialist aggressively attempted to stifle other scientists and prevent any study into the coronavirus's origins. He then went on to accuse Fauci of being directly responsible for every death in the United States as a result of COVID-19.
Fauci told the committee that a heavily armed California guy was caught on his way to Washington, D.C. He was arrested last month after telling investigators he meant to murder Fauci and Vice President Joe Biden. Fauci then displayed Paul's campaign website printouts, which included the words "Fire Dr. Fauci" with a contribution request.
For over a year, the Republican senator and the country's top infectious disease specialist have been at odds over the coronavirus and public health professionals' efforts to contain the epidemic. Fauci has been asked to resign by Paul. After yet another argument over the virus's origins, Fauci stated during a hearing last summer that Paul didn't know what he was talking about. In November, Fauci said that Republicans like Paul had exploited him as a scapegoat for anti-science assaults, according to Huff Post.
Biden's health advisor dismisses Wuhan lab leak theory
According to an email obtained by House Republicans on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed the hypothesis that COVID-19 came from a Chinese facility shortly after the outbreak in the United States, calling it a "shiny item that will go away."
Ranking members of the House Oversight Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) revealed the contents of the April 2020 email in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, demanding that the chief White House medical adviser be made available to testify.
On April 16, 2020, Dr. Francis Collins, then-Director of the National Institutes of Health, gave Fauci a link to a Fox News anchor Bret Baier piece suggesting that "a few folks" knowledgeable with COVID-19's origins believed it originated from the Wuhan facility, as per New York Post.
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