Anthony Fauci To Mark First Appearance Before GOP Controlled House, Urged To 'Confront The Facts'

In the coming year, former White House chief medical advisor, Anthony Fauci, is expected to testify before Congress concerning the origins of COVID-19 and the US response to the pandemic.

What Happened: As reported by The Hill, Fauci will be a part of an ongoing investigation into the COVID-19 origins and America’s pandemic response. The former top infectious disease expert will participate in transcribed interviews in January, with a public hearing to follow. This will be his first appearance before a Republican-controlled House.

The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic had requested a meeting with Fauci in February. However, the details and timing of the interviews were only agreed upon this month, according to a committee letter.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), the committee’s GOP chairman, has urged Fauci to “confront the facts and address the numerous controversies that have arisen during and after the pandemic.” House Republicans have been questioning if Fauci or other US government officials were implicated in any cover-up regarding the COVID-19 origin.

Despite criticisms, Fauci has maintained that the virus likely emerged naturally and jumped from animals to humans. He has also dismissed allegations of the National Institutes of Health funding “gain of function” research at a Wuhan virology lab.

See Also: Trump’s Niece Explains Why Ivanka’s Testimony In NY Civil Case, Her ‘Shady Loan’ Threatens ‘House Of Card

Why It Matters: This development follows allegations by Wenstrup that Fauci secretly visited the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters to sway investigations into the origins of COVID-19. According to a Benzinga article, Wenstrup claimed Fauci pushed a narrative to debunk the lab leak theory.

This adds to the mounting pressure on Fauci, who has been criticized by figures such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, despite earlier praise for his handling of the pandemic, as noted in another Benzinga report.

Fauci’s family connections have also come under scrutiny, with an earlier revelation that his daughter worked at Twitter during the pandemic, eliciting a response from the company’s owner Elon Musk.

Courtesy NIAID On Wikimedia Commons

Read Next: Kevin McCarthy Visited Mar-A-Lago After Jan. 6 Capitol Riots Because Staffers Said Donald Trump Was ‘Not Eating’ — ‘He’s Really Depressed’