WASHINGTON, D.C. (Michigan News Source) – Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to face questions before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about his role in the federal government’s COVID-19 response, including pandemic-era policies, research funding, and the origins of the virus.
But while Republicans pressed the former White House medical adviser over Fauci’s handling of the pandemic, Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters spent his entire five minutes defending Fauci and criticizing the hearing itself.
Five minutes, zero questions.
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If you were expecting Peters to challenge the man who became the face of lockdowns, mask guidance, vaccine mandates, school closures and shifting public health recommendations during the pandemic, you came away empty-handed. Not because Fauci refused to answer Peters’ questions – but because Peters never asked him any.
Instead, Peters argued Republicans were rehashing old battles instead of preparing for the next public health emergency. He defended Fauci, accused the committee of conducting a partisan exercise, warned the hearing could discourage future scientists from entering public service, and criticized President Donald Trump. Then he concluded his remarks without directing a single question to the witness seated in front of him.
Fauci invokes the Fifth.
While the Democratic senator chose not to question him, Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when Republicans took their turns. In fact, he did it over 100 times.
Before doing so, however, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases delivered an opening statement accusing Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) of using the hearing to pursue a years-long personal crusade against him.
Fauci said, ”Given Senator Paul’s obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.. the only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this Committee is to get me to say something that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars.’”
Throughout the hearing, Fauci appeared visibly tense, maintaining a stern expression while repeatedly clicking and fidgeting with a pen as he declined to answer questions.
Attorney escorted from hearing.
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The day’s most dramatic moment came when Paul ordered Capitol Police to remove Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, after concluding he was improperly attempting to participate from the witness table.
Oversight or political theater?
Republicans argued Fauci’s repeated invocation of the Fifth Amendment spoke for itself, while Democrats insisted the hearing was more about political theater than legitimate congressional oversight.
Peters summed up his position during his remarks, saying, “I think today’s hearing, unfortunately, does real damage. It’s tempting to turn one person into the scapegoat for a crisis that hundreds of officials across both the Trump and the Biden administration were responsible for handling.”
Whether viewers saw the hearing as long-overdue accountability or political theater, one thing was undeniable: Michigan’s senior senator used every minute of his allotted time without asking the witness a single question. If Peters truly believed Fauci bore no responsibility for the government’s COVID-19 response, he had five minutes to make that case through questioning. Instead, he chose not to ask anything at all.
