Republican Senator Bernie Moreno has stood by his decision to use strong language during a Senate hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci. This took place in a heated session on Wednesday.
Dr. Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was brought before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He was subpoenaed by the committee’s chairman, Senator Rand Paul. This committee is under Republican leadership.
Senator Paul has long accused Fauci of misleading the public about the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Fauci has repeatedly denied these allegations in past hearings. On this occasion, he invoked the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer further questions. Although pardoned by former Democratic President Joe Biden in early 2025, some Republicans hinted he could still face perjury charges related to the hearing.
During the session, Moreno questioned Fauci aggressively as he refused to respond. Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, stated he entered politics after an incident where a woman was arrested for not wearing a mask at a middle school football game in 2020. “Here I am sitting in front of you six years later, saying, who the f*** do you think you were for doing that? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country.”
After the hearing, Moreno spoke on ‘The Scott Jennings Show,’ a conservative radio broadcast. He defended his comments, saying, “That was me being nice, by the way. That was holding back, trying to be polite, given the respect that I have for the office, for the institution. But the reality is, this guy did enormous harm to a lot of people, millions of people.”
Moreno argued that Fauci had shown contempt by not answering questions. “I believe what he did today was contempt of Congress, and I hope we hold a vote on that soon and hold him in contempt,” he mentioned. “This guy’s got to be held accountable. People paid a price, he needs to pay a price.”
The committee, led by Paul, plans to vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt. It remains unclear if there will be a push for criminal contempt charges or further legal action.
This story is ongoing. Additional updates will be provided.
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