Dr. Anthony Fauci wants Americans — particularly Rep. Jim Jordan — to know that the “liberty thing” does not concern him during discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The infectious disease expert’s remark came during a testy exchange before the House Select Subcommittee on the coronavirus.
“When is the time?” the Ohio Republican asked about a return to normalcy. “When do Americans get their freedom back? … What outcome do we have to reach before Americans get their liberty and freedoms back?”
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) April 15, 2021
Dr. Fauci, however, insisted that concerns over the erosions of rights codified into law by the U.S. Constitution were irrelevant to his testimony.
“I don’t look at this as a liberty thing, Congressman Jordan,” the doctor revealed. “I look at this as a public health thing. I disagree with you on that completely.”
“Well, that’s obvious!” Mr. Jordan exclaimed. “You think the Constitution is suspended during a virus? During a pandemic? It’s certainly not.”
Dr. Fauci refused to give concrete metrics as to when controversial pandemic restrictions could be removed.
Instead, the medical expert offered “very low” for an infection-rate litmus test for pre-COVID-19 levels of activity to resume across the nation.
Rep. Maxine Waters punctuated the debate by chastising Mr. Jordan.
“You need to respect the chair and shut your mouth!” the California Democrat yelled.
The exchange comes against a public health backdrop that includes over 565,000 U.S. deaths attributed to the virus.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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