Public health leaders and advocacy groups rallied to Dr. Anthony Fauci's defense after his July 29 Senate hearing, calling him a hero for his decades of public service. Fauci, 85 and retired in 2022, invoked his Fifth Amendment right in response to every question during the three-plus hour session. Republicans, led by Sen. Rand Paul, criticized Fauci and plan to pursue a committee vote on contempt charges, while major medical organizations and clinicians publicly praised his scientific leadership and impact.
Public Health Leaders Rally Behind Fauci, Call Him a 'Hero' After Heated Senate Hearing
Dr. Diana Bianchi, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases talk after a hearing looking into the budget estimates for National Institute of Health (NIH) and the state of medical research on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on May 26, 2021.(Sarah Silbiger, Pool)
Public health experts and advocacy groups strongly defended Dr. Anthony Fauci after his contentious appearance at a July 29 Senate hearing, calling the longtime infectious disease specialist a hero for his decades of service.
Fauci, 85, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2022, was subpoenaed to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to every question during the more-than-three-hour session.
Republican committee chair Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized Fauci sharply during the hearing and said he would move next week to schedule a committee vote seeking contempt charges. Paul also released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci's pandemic-era diaries that included unflattering descriptions of former President Donald Trump.
Medical Community Pushes Back
Leading medical organizations and public health figures publicly defended Fauci's record. In a letter to the committee, Stefano Bertuzzi, CEO of the American Society for Microbiology, offered "unequivocal support," praising Fauci's career as built on evidence, intellectual rigor and an "unwavering commitment to improving people's lives." Bertuzzi described Fauci's scientific work as "the gold standard."
AVAC (AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition) submitted a letter calling the subpoena and related probes "dismaying and disturbing," and urged lawmakers to end what it characterized as harassment of respected scientists whose work has reshaped global public health.
Voices From Public Health and Social Media
Dr. Georges Benjamin, CEO of the American Public Health Association, told NPR that spectacles like the Fauci hearing — combined with budget cuts to federal public health agencies — risk undermining public health in the United States.
Clinicians and public health professionals used social media to defend Fauci's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Olivia Zarella, a research associate at the Colorado School of Public Health, wrote that Fauci helped her endure long hours early in the pandemic and called him "a national hero." Jerome Adams, U.S. Surgeon General under President Trump, said on X that Fauci acted with "the best intentions for our country." Public health analyst Dr. Irwin Redlener described the probes as an "ignorant witch hunt" and praised Fauci as "one of America's most heroic public health scientists."
"Of course mistakes were made. This was science on the run & experts were making their best recommendations based on the information they had at that very moment," Redlener wrote.
While Republicans pressed for accountability, Democrats and many in the scientific community framed the hearing as politically motivated and emphasized Fauci's long record of public service and contributions to medicine and public health.
Dr. Anthony Fauci and Joan Baez attend the 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on May 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.(Paul Morigi, Getty Images)
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci looks on during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Jan. 21, 2021.(MANDEL NGAN, AFP via Getty Images)
Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, talks to members of the press prior to an event at the State Dining Room of the White House Jan. 21, 2021 in Washington.(Alex Wong, Getty Images)
A poster of Chief Medical Advisor to the President Anthony Fauci is seen as members of Democrats Abroad in Shanghai celebrate as Joe Biden is sworn in as 46th President of the United States at a bar Jan. 21, 2021 in Shanghai, China.(Hu Chengwei, Getty Images)
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, prepares to receive his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health on Dec. 22, 2020, in Bethesda, Md.(POOL PHOTO BY PATRICK SEMANSKY)
Appearing via video link, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to be his chief medical adviser on COVID-19, speaks during a news conference at the Queen Theater Dec. 8, 2020 in Wilmington, Del.(Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, holds notes before speaking during a White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Nov. 19, 2020 in Washington, DC.(Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, fist bumps Committee Chairman James Clyburn, D-S.C., before testifying in front of the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis during a hearing on a national plan to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, on Capitol Hill on July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC.(POOL PHOTO BY Kevin Dietsch)
National Institute of of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci throws out the ceremonial first pitch before MLB Opening Day between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 23, 2020 in Washington, DC.(Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appears remotely via a video conference, as he testifies about reopening schools and workplaces safely during the pandemic, during a US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing as seen on a laptop in Washington, DC, May 12, 2020.(SAUL LOEB, AFP via Getty Images)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens to President Trump speak from the press briefing room with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force on April 1, 2020 in Washington, DC.(Win McNamee, Getty Images)
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, with (L-R) Vice President Mike Pence, President Donald Trump and Response coordinator for White House Coronavirus Task Force Deborah Birx, speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House on April 1, 2020, in Washington, DC.(MANDEL NGAN, AFP via Getty Images)
You know you are a big deal if your face is on a donut! Like new Dr. Anthony Fauci donuts available at Donuts Delite on Culver Rd in Rochester, N.Y., March 25, 2020.(Shawn Dowd, Shawn Dowd via USA TODAY NETWORK)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Fauci spoke with USA TODAY about the Zika virus on May 11, 2016.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci hugs Nina Pham (3rd L), the nurse who was infected with Ebola from treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan, as Pham's mother Diana (6th L) and sister Cathy (4th L), and Director of the National Institutes of Health Francis Collins (L) look on at the end of a news briefing at National Institutes of Health Oct. 24, 2014 in Bethesda, Md. Pham, who first diagnosed on Oct. 12, was declared free of the virus.(Alex Wong, Getty Images)
Dr. Anthony Fauci joins Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, left and other public health officials as they are sworn in to testify at a hearing examining the U.S. public health response to the ebola outbreak on Oct. 16, 2014.(Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 19, 2008 to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases during ceremonies at the White House in Washington, DC. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, recognizes exceptional meritorious service.(KAREN BLEIER, AFP/Getty Images)
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R) and Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, attend the House Government Reform Committee hearing Oct. 8, 2004 in Washington. They were testifying about the severe shortage of flu vaccines in the U.S. this year.(Stephen J. Boitano, Getty Images)
Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is sworn in before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29, 2026, in Washington, DC.
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