Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was put under the microscope on Monday during a fiery hearing on the US’s COVID-19 pandemic response that included calls for his imprisonment.
Making his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since his retirement in December 2022, Fauci was confronted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who accused him of profiting from the pandemic and demanded severe repercussions. “That man does not deserve to have a license. As a matter of fact, it should be revoked and he belongs in prison,” Greene said.
The House panel had earlier released transcripts from a closed-door, 14-hour testimony held over two days in January 2024, where Fauci was intensely questioned about his role in mask and vaccine mandates, as well as social distancing guidelines. A notable moment came when Fauci addressed the COVID “lab leak” theory, acknowledging that while it isn’t a conspiracy, he maintained his belief that the virus arose through natural occurrence.
The statement, however, was overshadowed by Rep. Greene’s pointed critique regarding financial conflicts of interest. “NIH scientists made $710 million in royalties from drug makers. A fact that’s been hidden. Is it right for scientists and doctors getting paid by the American people, government taxpayer paychecks to get patents where they’re paid millions and hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty fees?” Greene challenged.
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The Georgia congresswoman went on to question Fauci directly, stripping him of his honorific in a sign of disrespect and distrust. “Do you think that’s appropriate? Do the American people deserve to be abused like that? Mr. Fauci? Cause you’re not Doctor, you’re Mr. Fauci.”
The accusations stem from a report alleging that National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists, including Fauci, benefited financially from royalties amounting to over $700 million paid by pharmaceutical companies involved in COVID-19 drug development. While Fauci remained composed, his responses were terse, focused primarily on defending the scientific community’s integrity and the emergency responses undertaken during the pandemic. He did not directly address the royalty payments.
The testimony is part of an investigative effort by the House to assess the preparedness and response of the US to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the roles played by key figures like Fauci. He claimed that he was not the originator of the 6-foot social distancing recommendation during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic; this guidance was issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
“It actually came from the CDC. The CDC was responsible for those kinds of guidelines to schools, not me,” Fauci said. Although Fauci touted this guidance throughout the pandemic, he once remarked that it lacked scientific backing, clarifying that this meant it was not supported by clinical trials.
“It had little to do with me since I didn’t make the recommendation and my saying ‘there was no science behind it’ meant there was no clinical trial behind that,” Fauci claimed.
“I think one of the things that was really a problem with the response was the degree of divisiveness that we had in the country about a lack of a coherent response where we were having people, for reasons that had nothing to do with public health or science, refusing to adhere to public health intervention measures,” he went on to say.
