A heated session of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the origins of COVID-19 and the government’s response turned confrontational on Wednesday. The meeting, marked by a strong outburst from Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, saw the senator directing harsh words at Dr. Anthony Fauci. Moreno, a Republican in his first term, confronted the 85-year-old former White House chief medical adviser with, “Here I am, sitting in front of you six years later, saying who the f*ck do you think you were for doing that,” alluding to the lockdowns, mask mandates, and school closures he attributes to Fauci’s guidance.
This interaction occurred during a session led by Republicans and chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, who has been a persistent critic of Fauci. Paul had expressed a desire for “perhaps an apology” before moving to schedule a contempt vote after Fauci declined to answer questions. Fauci, however, repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, choosing not to address inquiries about his involvement in forming COVID-19 mitigation strategies or whether he ordered the destruction of federal records.
Moreno challenged Fauci’s silence, providing him with a pocket Constitution and demanding an explanation of the Fifth Amendment, while accusing him of hiding behind a right he claimed Fauci “didn’t know who wrote,” later pointing out it was authored by James Madison. Moreno also asked members of the audience who felt wronged by being labeled racist for calling it the “China virus,” losing jobs for refusing vaccination, or opposing school closures to stand. He then asked Fauci to acknowledge them, but Fauci did not turn around, keeping his focus on his legal team.
Moreno persistently questioned whether Fauci would apologize to military personnel discharged for refusing the vaccine, parents who masked their young children, and an Ohio mother arrested at a high school football game for not complying with local mask mandates. Each time, Fauci’s response was to invoke the Fifth Amendment. In his initial statement prior to the tense exchanges, Fauci accused Paul of harboring an “unhinged obsession” with prosecuting him and reminded the committee that former President Joe Biden had granted him a pre-emptive pardon related to actions during the federal COVID-19 response.
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