Senate Showdown: What to Know About Fauci’s COVID-19 Hearing

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 03: Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is sworn-in before testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 03, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee is holding a hearing on the findings from a fifteen month Republican-led probe of former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci and the COVID-19 pandemic's origins. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci is scheduled to return to Congress on Wednesday, where he is sure to face backlash over his work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate panel Fauci is scheduled to appear before is chaired by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has been one of Fauci’s loudest critics. Paul has been particularly critical about investigations into COVID-19’s origin, as he claims that the virus was developed in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and escaped.

The origin of COVID-19 remains unknown, and U.S. intelligence agencies are divided on the subject, with some supporting the possibility of the coronavirus emerging from an accidental lab leak in China while others support natural transmission from animal to human.

Fauci previously said he keeps “an open mind as to what the origin is,” though he has also said he believes the animal-to-human route was more likely.

What to Expect at Fauci’s Hearing

Paul subpoenaed Fauci to testify at the hearing. Fauci has not made many appearances in front of Congress since he left government office in 2022, but when he has, it’s been highly contentious, underscoring the deeply political divide that emerged during the pandemic and remains in many ways now.

Former President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci before he left the White House because of threats of “unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions” by the incoming administration.

Paul and Fauci will undoubtedly be the main show on Wednesday. Paul posted on social media that he “will make sure Fauci answers for his dangerous decisions and the consequences they had for millions.”

Ahead of the hearing, the senator more than a thousand pages of what he called Fauci’s “diary” that contained entries from 2019-22.

“What he wrote privately and what he told the country are two different stories,” Paul said of the documents.

How to Watch Fauci’s Testimony

The hearing will be livestreamed here starting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.