Calls for Dr. Fauci to step down intensify from GOP

June 7, 2021 Amber Coakley US 0

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee looking into the budget estimates for National Institute of Health (NIH) and the state of medical research, Wednesday, May 26, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP)

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UPDATED 8:45 AM PT – Monday, June 7, 2021

Calls for Dr. Anthony Fauci’s removal have intensified in response to the controversy surrounding his recently surfaced emails. This came after Judicial Watch revealed hundreds of documents showing a Wuhan lab received funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.

According to reports, the Wuhan Institute of Virology was given more than $826,000 for bat coronavirus research between 2014 and 2019. This funding came from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is headed by Dr. Fauci. While the project was described as modest, emails between Dr. Fauci and NIH officials described it as a “large multi-country study.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) weighed in on the matter by asserting that Dr. Fauci has been systematically lying about COVID-19. During an interview Sunday, the Texas senator said Dr. Fauci’s emails show he was not telling Americans what he knew about COVID-19, but has been pushing a political narrative to spread fear instead.

Dr. Fauci, however, claimed criticizing him is “anti-science.” He called the attacks misrepresented, but GOP lawmakers said answers are needed.

So many more questions to answer, starting with this one: why did Fauci downplay the idea that COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab? #FauciEmails

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) June 6, 2021

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also joined a chorus of GOP voices calling for Dr. Fauci to step down. In an interview Saturday, the House minority leader criticized the flip-flopping of the left when it comes to the Wuhan lab theory. He also asserted that Dr. Fauci needs to go.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) added, the emails paint a “disturbing picture of Dr. Fauci from the very beginning.” Meanwhile, the White House has ruled out firing Dr. Fauci under “any circumstances.”