Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci squared off in another tense exchange Wednesday, with the Kentucky Republican threatening to get to the bottom of possible conflicts of interest in the public health sector.
After peppering Fauci with questions about immunology, Paul briefly lambasted the health official for not being transparent about any royalties he or others in the public health sector received from health companies.
RAND PAUL SAYS FAUCI RETIRING WON’T STOP INVESTIGATION INTO ORIGINS OF COVID-19
“We’ve been asking you, and you refuse to answer whether anybody on the vaccine committees gets royalties from the pharmaceutical companies,” Paul declared. “I asked you last time, and what was your response? ‘We don’t have to tell you.’”
“You keep saying, ‘You approve, you do this, you do that.’ The committees that give the approval are FDA through their advisory committee — the committees that recommend our CDC to their advisory committee,” Fauci shot back. “So I don’t really understand, with all due respect.”
Fauci previously told Paul in a June hearing that federal regulations do not require individuals to divulge royalties under the Bayh-Dole Act but publicly disclosed some of the royalties he received during that hearing anyway.
Paul explained that he sought information via the Freedom of Information Act about possible payments to Fauci and others involved in making critical decisions about vaccines and drugs received from pharmaceutical companies but was unsuccessful.
He then dropped a stern warning that Republicans would get to the bottom of any possible conflicts of interest if they retake control of Congress.
“I’ll tell you this: When we get in charge, we’re going change the rules, and you will have to divulge where you get your royalties from, from what companies, and if anybody on the committee has a conflict of interest. We’re going to learn about it. I promise you that,” Paul warned Fauci.
The duo has been known to trade barbs in the past, but Fauci appeared more serene and unfazed than he has in past showdowns in which he had been visibly riled by his Senate nemesis. The exchange occurred during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
During the barrage of questions, Paul also hammered Fauci’s position on immunology, playing an edited clip of Fauci advising someone in a 2004 C-SPAN interview that they did not need to receive a flu shot. Paul used the clip to insinuate Fauci contradicted his position on COVID-19 vaccines.
However, as Fauci and a Reuter’s fact check noted, the clip featured Fauci discussing the flu vaccine with someone who described having a reaction to it — Fauci was not voicing opposition to the vaccine for the general public.
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Fauci announced last month that he will depart from his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and as the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden by the end of the year. He has served as the chief of NIAID for 38 years and worked in government for nearly 50 years.
“While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring,” Fauci declared in his announcement.
