After Dr. Anthony Fauci stated he would “consider” appearing before a Republican-controlled Congress about his management of the epidemic, Megyn Kelly viciously attacked Fauci, yelling “f**k you.”
He sounds like he’s been asked to afternoon tea at one of our homes, Kelly said in her opening monologue for her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, citing Fauci’s apparent reluctance over a prospective congressional subpoena.
Only if it’s an oversight, she ridiculed Fauci’s emotion and echoed his remarks, adding, “What I experienced was personal assaults.”
Once out of character, Kelly said, “F**k you, Dr. Fauci!”
She said, “You don’t get to choose whether you go.” You get a congressional subpoena, you must appear, or you will be subject to Steve Bannon’s wrath.
Former Fox News and NBC Today personality Kelly said Fauci ought to be called out for the COVID lockdowns that destroyed companies despite assertions that they had no effect on lowering overall mortality tolls.
She also denounced his ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where COVID is thought to have leaked from, and sponsorship of the institute’s so-called “gain of function” research, which strengthens viruses in an effort to discover cures.
Kelly said that Fauci should also be criticised for refusing to entertain any debates over the effectiveness of COVID vaccines and boosters, which have been shown to be useless against the most recent strains of the virus.
After being found guilty of two charges of contempt of congress last month for his refusal to testify before the House Select Committee looking into the rioting on January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol, Bannon now faces a two-year prison sentence.
In response to claims that he is leaving his position to dodge an inquiry, Fauci stated he had “nothing to hide” on Tuesday when he appeared on Fox News.
Then, in an interview with Fox anchor Neil Cavuto, Fauci said that if Republicans were to win the November elections, he was “not even the slightest bit” worried about a potential inquiry.
Fauci, who is presently in charge of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and serves as President Joe Biden’s main medical advisor, said, “I have nothing to hide.”
Fauci said, “I can justify everything I’ve done and every choice I’ve taken.” “So, I’m not at all terrified of it.”
In anticipation of launching an investigation of Fauci’s handling of the virus crisis, Republicans have placed him at the top of their list of potential witnesses should they take control of the House and Senate in the elections in November.
Fauci also took the opportunity to respond to claims that he is just leaving to get a $400,000 pension. He chuckled at the notion and said, “I don’t know” where that figure came from.
Republican senators like Senator Rand Paul and Fauci often disagreed during the epidemic on COVID mitigation measures.
Republicans saw the infectious disease specialist as a representation of lockdowns, while Fauci countered that he was only following scientific advice.
He said that rather than scrutinising the government’s reaction to the outbreak, the GOP has focused more on character assassination.
“What has transpired up to this point is less of an oversight and more of a character assassination.”
As long as we make it a courteous oversight—which is what it should be—instead of simply bringing up absurd stuff and assaulting my reputation, I’d be willing to participate.
That’s not an oversight,’ he said earlier on Tuesday to CNN’s New Day.
Republicans told Fauci on Monday that they would still summon him before Congress despite his resignation.
Should Democrats win the midterm elections, they want to accelerate both their own inquiries into the causes of the coronavirus outbreak and the American government’s reaction. The House is expected to be won by the GOP.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican, and Fauci have engaged in some notable hearing exchanges in the past.
On Monday, he said that despite his retirement, Fauci would be required to give a sworn testimony.
Fauci’s departure won’t stop a thorough inquiry into the pandemic’s causes. Any conversations he took part in about the lab leak will be the subject of an oath-required deposition, Paul tweeted.
Republican party members made similar promises.
Make no mistake, he said, “whether or not he continues in public service, my colleagues and I will hold Dr. Fauci responsible.”
Retirement can’t hide Dr. Fauci from legislative monitoring, according to Republican Rep. James Comer, who would lead the Oversight panel if Republicans take back control of Congress in November.
Fauci said on Monday that he would quit the administration in December to “pursue the next chapter” of his career.
Fauci, 81, has been making retirement hints for some months, but up until this week, he had not specified when his public career will come to an end.
Fauci said in a statement, “While I am leaving my present posts, I am not retiring.
“I want to pursue the next stage of my career while I still have so much energy and love for my area after more than 50 years of government service.”
I want to continue advancing science and public health, and I want to utilise what I’ve learned as the director of NIAID to inspire and guide the next generation of scientific leaders as they work to get the world ready to deal with infectious disease challenges in the future,’ he added.
In addition to decades of work on infectious illnesses including the AIDS epidemic, Ebola, Zika, and the coronavirus pandemic, Biden commended Fauci, saying the doctor had saved “countless lives.”
As we battled this once-in-a-generation epidemic, I was able to contact him at any time of day for his counsel. He is completely dedicated to the project and approaches it with an unmatched zeal, vigour, and scientific integrity,’ Biden said in a statement.
Fauci did not mention his plans for the future but ruled out working in the pharmaceutical sector. He said he had been writing a memoir but that he lacked a publisher.
He told The New York Times, “So long as I’m healthy, which I am, active, which I am, and enthusiastic, which I am, I want to do some things outside of the federal government.”
When he disagreed with Donald Trump’s predecessor and members of the Republican Party on how to address the avian flu outbreak, Fauci rose to national prominence.
He was ultimately silenced by the Trump administration, but he persisted in speaking out, promoting face masks and social seclusion before vaccinations were widely accessible, all the while Republicans branded him as a lockdown icon.
After Trump departed the White House, Fauci said he thought about leaving, but decided against it because he did not want to deny Biden’s desire to continue serving during the covid epidemic.
The Times quoted Fauci as saying, “So I remained on for a year, believing that at the end of the year, it would be the end of Covid, and as it turned out, you know, that’s not exactly what occurred.” Now that I’m in my second year here, I’ve just become aware of several things I wish to accomplish.
Threats to his life resulted from his disagreements with Republicans, notably with former President Donald Trump.
This month, a guy who threatened to murder Fauci and his family in emails was given more than three years in jail.
Fauci has a dependable security team that he’ll probably still need after leaving the ministry.
I was forced to disagree with a US president. He told the Post, “I did it; it wasn’t the simplest thing in the world to do.
Trump and Fauci initially got along, but their relationship deteriorated as the former president pushed to end the government shutdown and the latter argued in favour of maintaining mitigation strategies like face masks and social isolation.
When Trump claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a potential medication, Fauci countered that it had not yet shown any evidence of efficacy.
In a document that was subsequently made public, Trump and his aides explained why they believed Fauci was mistaken about the pandemic.
Fauci remarked, “I was placed in a very rare situation where the nation was afraid, and they really needed someone who was stable and honest, who showed integrity, and remained with the truth, and I became the symbol of it.”
“And you become the villain to them when you become a symbol for a certain group of people, the ones opposing it.”
However, there are some signs that the government’s handling of the epidemic was flawed. According to a report on the CDC published last week, the organisation responded slowly to the pandemic and provided unclear information on things like face masks.
As soon as Biden was elected president, Fauci was named as his top medical advisor. Additionally, he has served for 38 years as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ director.
In his research on infectious diseases, Fauci, according to Biden, has helped save countless lives.
Dr. Fauci has made numerous contributions to public health, saving lives both in the United States and abroad.
The American people and the rest of the world will continue to gain from Dr. Fauci’s experience in whatever he does after leaving his position in the U.S. Government.
Whether or not you have personally interacted with him, his work has had a profound impact on all Americans.
He has my sincere gratitude for his public service. He has made the United States of America stronger, more durable, and healthier, the president declared in his statement.
Fauci says of his decision to step down, “I still have so much energy and passion for my field,” and insists he is not retiring.
I’m announcing today that I’ll be leaving my roles as chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden. In order to pursue the next phase of my career, I will be leaving these positions in December of this year.
Being in charge of the NIAID for so many years and through so many difficulties in science and public health has been an honour of a lifetime.
I am incredibly proud of all of our achievements. In my own lab, at NIAID, at NIH, and elsewhere, I have collaborated with and learned from a countless number of talented and committed individuals. I want to let them know how much I appreciate and respect them.
As director of NIAID for the past 38 years, I have had the incredible honour of working for and advising seven US presidents, starting with President Ronald Reagan, on the threat of newly emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, West Nile virus, anthrax attacks, pandemic influenza, various bird influenza threats, Ebola and Zika, among others, and, of course, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Being President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor since the very first day of his administration makes me especially proud.