Fauci to testify before Congress for the first time since stepping down

Anthony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to President Biden, will testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on June 3, making it the first time he will appear before a congressional panel since leaving government work at the end of 2022.

Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) announced the hearing Wednesday. Fauci had committed to testify late last year along with agreeing to two days of interviews, which took place in January.

The closed-door interviews focused on gain-of-function research, alleged federal records violations, conflicts of interest and confusions around pandemic guidance. Fauci was joined by two attorneys during the entire course of the interviews.

“During Dr. Fauci’s closed-door interview in January, he testified to serious systemic failures in our public health system that deserve further investigation, including his testimony that the ‘6 feet apart’ social distancing guidance — which was used to shut down small businesses and schools across America — ‘sort of just appeared,'” Wenstrup said in a statement.

“As the face of America’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, these statements raise serious questions that warrant public scrutiny.”

Ranking Member Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) said he appreciated “Dr. Fauci’s willingness to testify voluntarily in June, which will allow the American public to evaluate for themselves the results of the Majority’s extreme fishing expedition,” when reached for comment by The Hill.

“Dr. Fauci is a dedicated public servant who stepped up for our nation during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for fourteen months, the Republican Majority has dedicated time and taxpayer dollars to a politically motivated probe to vilify him,” said Ruiz, calling on the majority in the subcommittee to release the transcripts from the January meeting.

“Nearly half a million pages of documents and more than a dozen transcribed interviews with current and former federal public health officials and researchers — including 14 hours of testimony from Dr. Fauci himself — have failed to uncover any evidence that he sought to cover up the pandemic’s origins or suppress the lab leak theory.”

All that is known regarding what was discussed during the interviews is what members have relayed to reporters. Lawmakers said the longtime government scientists provided a great deal of clarification during the meeting, though Wenstrup said Fauci claimed he did not recall details about the pandemic numerous times during the interview.

Wenstrup said a transcript of the meeting would be released prior to the June hearing.

This article was updated at 8:53 p.m.