A House committee examining the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic questioned Dr. Anthony Fauci behind closed doors Monday, but lawmakers said the former chief medical adviser to the president couldn’t remember many details about his advocacy of lockdowns, his flip-flopping of mask mandates and his decision to allow government funding of gain-of-function research in China that might have led to the pandemic.
It was Dr. Fauci’s first appearance in the House since he retired from public office a year ago and the first of two days he will spend with the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, Ohio Republican and head of the panel, said after the first day of testimony that Dr. Fauci drew a blank on many of the details lawmakers sought.
“What I’m most surprised about is how much he doesn’t recall, considering the severity of this event for the world, and that he was the face of the government’s response to COVID,” Mr. Wenstrup said.
Mr. Wenstrup said Dr. Fauci offered “a new definition” of gain-of-function research regarding potential pathogens that “varies from what a lot of other scientists use when they report on gain-of-function research.”
Lawmakers prepared 200 pages of questions for Dr. Fauci, who quickly became a high-profile spokesman on the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020 during the Trump administration.
As chief medical adviser and head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, he led the pandemic response under Presidents Trump and Biden.
Dr. Fauci did not speak to reporters in the Capitol. He is expected to return for a second day of questioning Tuesday.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, Michigan Democrat, said Dr. Fauci provided detailed information on the role of the National Institutes of Health in combating viruses and pandemics.
“I think it’s probably pretty political that we’re here to begin with. But I think they’re asking questions and he is being very specific in answering how he was responding to questions,” she said.
Ms. Dingell said the closed-door format “is not playing to cameras” and gives Dr. Fauci a chance to “clarify a lot of political points people have tried to make.”
Praised by many for his advocacy of face masks, closures and lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Dr. Fauci was vilified by others who uncovered his efforts to allow government funding to flow into “gain of function” research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. Some suspect the virus was produced at the laboratory and accidentally leaked into the population.
Mr. Wenstrup did not offer greater detail about Dr. Fauci’s responses about gain-of-function research but said the committee plans to question him further.
Some Republican lawmakers and other critics blame Dr. Fauci for helping to start the pandemic through gain-of-function research, which seeks to develop viruses into contagious human pathogens.
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, accused Dr. Fauci of skirting federal government safety guidelines to fund the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He said the virus infected laboratory workers, who spread it to the general population.
Mr. Paul, who has tussled with Dr. Fauci in several public hearings, said he orchestrated an elaborate cover-up of his involvement by persuading infectious disease experts to abandon their theories about a lab leak and publicly embrace the idea that the virus evolved from animals.
“He knew that his reputation and the billion-dollar ‘business of science’ depended on distancing himself, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, from any research in Wuhan,” Mr. Paul wrote in a book.
Dr. Fauci has repeatedly denied funding the creation of the virus and said Mr. Paul’s effort to pin it on him is “egregiously incorrect.” He has accused Mr. Paul of distorting information and fueling threats against him and his family and criticized the senator for promoting his opposition to him in fundraising emails.
Many House lawmakers have criticized Dr. Fauci for advocating lockdown policies that did little to extinguish the virus and caused widespread harm, particularly to children who were shut out of public schools for months. He also took fire for pushing mask mandates and vaccination requirements despite questions about efficacy and safety, particularly for children.
“Americans demand and deserve explanations for any pandemic-era failures,” Mr. Wenstrup said. “This is an opportunity for Dr. Fauci to explain his COVID-19 policy positions. His forthcoming, honest, and transparent testimony over the next two days is critical for improving our nation’s future public health responses.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strenuously advocates for the vaccine.
CDC officials said in October that the shot “provides sustained protection against severe disease and death,” which is “the purpose of the vaccine.”
They acknowledged that protection against COVID-19 infection “tends to be modest and sometimes short-lived” but that the vaccines “are very effective at protecting against severe illness.”
Since leaving his government position, Dr. Fauci has advocated for the policies he promoted during the pandemic, particularly vaccines. He has blamed any failures on a reluctance by many people to get the shots, which have been linked to heart inflammation and other medical complications in some recipients and have not stopped the spread of the virus.
He stands by his assertion that certain kinds of masks can protect against viral spread.
“From a broad public health standpoint, at the population level, masks work at the margins — maybe 10%,” he told The New York Times in April. “But for an individual who religiously wears a mask, a well-fitted KN95 or N95, it’s not at the margin. It really does work.”
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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