President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would not challenge former President Joe Biden’s pardon of former infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci after a Senate hearing in which the doctor repeatedly refused to answer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic.

While speaking with reporters at the White House, he said “the most powerful thing the president has…is the power of the pardon.”

“So, he was pardoned by Biden, and I respect that,” Trump continued. “I know how powerful it is. It's a very powerful— they say it's literally the most powerful thing a president has. Now, whether or not I sign my things directly, always, almost everything I sign directly.”

The president went on to cast doubt on the notion that Biden signed all of his pardons and suggested many were signed using an autopen without his knowledge. He acknowledged that even if Biden signed Fauci’s pardon with an autopen, it would be impossible to prove.

You need to have letters. You need to have all sorts of things that the person operating the Autopen has to know exactly what it's all about. He didn't know what it was about because I saw him testify. So maybe there's something on the Autopen. Other than that, the power of pardon is very powerful.

Just hours before leaving office, Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon for Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and served as top medical adviser under Trump and Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The pardon covered any possible federal offenses tied to his work from 2014 through the date it was issued. Biden said he took this step because Fauci and other public servants faced threats of politically driven investigations and prosecutions. He stressed that the pardon did not mean Fauci had done anything wrong. Fauci accepted it, saying the threats had caused great stress for him and his family even though he insisted he committed no crimes.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump and his allies called for investigations and possible criminal charges against Fauci. They accused him of misleading the public about the origins of the pandemic, funding questionable virus research in China, and pushing for onerous rules and restrictions during the pandemic.

Several Republican senators, including Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tommy Tuberville, and others have publicly called for Fauci’s arrest and prosecution. The upper chamber is expected to hold a hearing next week to decide whether to hold the former officials in contempt.