Johnson Calls Fauci ‘Arrogant’ in Upcoming Senate Hearing on Pandemic Response

Senate Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has stated that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will be “very forgetful, completely unrepentant, and arrogant to the extreme” during his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week.

Johnson said he expects little cooperation from Fauci as Republicans prepare to question the longtime public health official about the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The senator plans to highlight what he views as a “miserably failed response” to the virus during Wednesday’s hearing.

The committee, chaired by Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, subpoenaed Fauci for testimony related to an investigation into the origins of the pandemic and U.S.-funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Paul has repeatedly accused Fauci of misleading Congress regarding research funding and has argued that the former NIAID director should face criminal charges.

In a 2021 Senate hearing, Fauci denied that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funded gain-of-function research involving the virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Paul stated that negotiations with Fauci over documents and testimony have dragged on for months before the committee issued a subpoena.

“We’ve been negotiating with him for material and for testimony,” Paul told CNBC last month, “This has gone on for some time. He slow-walked us and slow-walked us. Finally agreed to come in voluntarily … then last week he says he’s not coming in. With this subpoena power, we will bring him in.”

Johnson echoed similar concerns, noting that Fauci has been untruthful in “the last six years.”

Wednesday’s hearing is expected to renew congressional scrutiny of the government’s pandemic response, including funding decisions and public health guidance.