In a private session with the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), faced a barrage of questions about his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers expressed surprise at the number of times Dr. Fauci claimed he could not recall important details during the seven-hour session.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) revealed that Dr. Fauci responded with over 100 “I don't recall” or “I don't remember” answers. This raised concerns among lawmakers, especially considering Dr. Fauci's prominent role as the face of the government's response to COVID-19.
Although lawmakers expected to discuss various topics, such as Dr. Fauci's shifting stance on mask mandates and support for lockdowns, most of the focus centered around grants and oversight of research. Republicans on the subcommittee highlighted the importance of understanding whether any U.S. funding contributed to the creation of COVID-19.
Dr. Wenstrup emphasized that they were particularly interested in gaining clarity on how Dr. Fauci defines gain-of-function research, which involves enhancing the pathogenesis or transmissibility of a virus or pathogen. Dr. Fauci has previously denied funding gain-of-function research in China, despite a report from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggesting otherwise.
During the closed-door session, Dr. Fauci appeared alongside two personal lawyers and two government lawyers. Lawmakers expressed their intention to delve deeper into Dr. Fauci's involvement with a paper that claimed COVID-19 could not have originated from a laboratory, even though the evidence did not support this conclusion.
Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, expressed surprise at Dr. Fauci's repeated claims of not recalling important details, especially considering the global severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. He promised to review Dr. Fauci's statements and stated that lawmakers might have already received the definition of gain-of-function research.
Despite the challenges faced during the closed-door session, lawmakers, including Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), expressed satisfaction with the information they received. Dingell acknowledged that they were obtaining detailed descriptions of the NIH's operations and their response to previous emerging viruses.
Dr. Fauci has agreed to testify at a public hearing in the future. Lawmakers are hopeful that this public hearing will provide further clarity on the COVID-19 pandemic and Dr. Fauci's role in its management.
