Earlier this week, the House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee held a hearing on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Fauci, previously in charge of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was testifying before the House Oversight Committee. The hearing turned contentious when Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene refused to address Dr. Anthony Fauci by his title, instead calling him “mister” and asserting he should be in prison.
Greene questioned whether he genuinely represented science, referencing his previous statements on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Fauci responded by affirming his identity as a scientist, which did not satisfy Greene and led to further clashes.
Greene ramped up her criticism dramatically, dredging up a particularly sensational incident. She highlighted how NIAID, under Fauci’s leadership, funded research at the University of Georgia, where dozens of beagles were infected with parasites. These poor pups were subjected to this misery to test an experimental drug. According to White Coat Waste Project documents, this ghastly experiment cost taxpayers a cool $424,455.
“This is disgusting and evil, what you signed off on,” Greene declared, her outrage dialed up to eleven. “Americans don’t pay their taxes for animals to be tortured like this.” One could almost hear the collective gasp from the gallery as she painted a vivid picture of writhing, infected beagles. Greene said that if this was the science Mr. Fauci represented, it was “abhorrent, and it needs to stop.”
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland objected to Greene’s refusal to address Fauci as a doctor. He questioned the decorum of denying a medical professional their title simply out of disagreement. Greene retorted that Fauci did not deserve his medical license and reiterated her belief that he should be imprisoned. This exchange heightened the tensions within the hearing, with other representatives criticizing Greene’s approach as inappropriate and violating procedural rules. Despite the backlash, Greene stood firm, concluding her statements by insisting that Fauci belonged in prison.
Greene wasn’t alone in her outrage. Republican Representative Rich McCormick from Georgia presented an audio recording during the hearing. This recording featured Dr. Anthony Fauci expressing support for measures aimed at compelling vaccinations by creating significant difficulties for those who choose not to comply.
The hearing included Fauci’s testimony and the audio clip played was from the audiobook “Fauci,” which was released in October 2020. In the audio, Fauci elaborated on how legal empowerment would enable schools, universities, and large corporations to enforce vaccination mandates.
He mentioned that educational institutions and businesses like Amazon and Facebook would require vaccinations for attendance and employment. Fauci argued that these mandates would push individuals to abandon their ideological objections to vaccines once their daily lives were significantly impacted.
During the hearing, McCormick interrogated Fauci, questioning whether he considered all objections to the COVID-19 vaccine as mere ideological stances. Fauci refuted this interpretation, insisting that his comments were not intended to dismiss all objections as ideological. McCormick brought up the example of Allison Williams, a former ESPN employee who resigned after her request for a vaccine mandate exemption was denied by Disney, the parent company of ESPN.
McCormick criticized Fauci, accusing him of affecting people’s ability to work, travel, pursue education, and exercise their freedoms. He argued that Fauci’s actions had infringed upon the American people’s rights and freedoms, accusing Fauci of instilling panic.
McCormick claimed that Fauci should be known as “Dr. Fear” for inspiring and creating fear through mask mandates, school closures, and vaccine mandates. McCormick believed this has destroyed the American people’s trust in “our public health institutions.” McCormick added that this fear will continue to have ripple effects for generations to come.
