Since the early days of the pandemic, Republican Senator Rand Paul has been at odds with Dr. Anthony Fauci on a number of issues.
While Fauci insisted schools remain closed, Dr. Paul explained why -- based on science, risk calculation and trade offs -- they should have opened in fall 2020.
During a number of visits to Capitol Hill for testimony about the pandemic, Fauci has been repeatedly cornered by Paul on his agency's funding of dangerous gain-of-function experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
After calling for Fauci to be fired, Paul has introduced an amendment that would eliminate his position.
“We’ve learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed “dictator-in-chief.” No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans,” Paul released in a statement Monday. “To ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again, I’ve introduced this amendment to eliminate Dr. Anthony Fauci’s position as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and divide his power into three separate new institutes. This will create accountability and oversight into a taxpayer funded position that has largely abused its power, and has been responsible for many failures and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Paul also plans to vote to end ongoing mask mandates on planes and other transportation. The mandate was extended last week by another month after it was set to expire on March 18.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci has been missing from the airwaves as the Biden administration tries to move the pandemic out of the headlines.