Rand Paul introduces amendment to eliminate Fauci's position as NIAID director

close

Video

Rand Paul: Dr. Fauci's claim lockdowns saved millions is false

Senate Health Committee member reacts to a new study that concludes COVID lockdowns did more harm than good on 'America Reports.'

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Monday introduced an amendment that would eliminate Dr. Anthony Fauci’s position as the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and decentralize it, so that no one person can act as "dictator-in-chief" in the name of public health, the senator said.

Paul's amendment would reorganize NIAID by breaking it down into three separate national research institutes, all with their own director, including the National Institute of Allergic Diseases, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute of Immunologic Diseases.

COVID LOCKDOWN LESSONS LEARNED - FAUCI AMENDMENT WOULD MEAN NO MORE HEALTH ‘DICTATOR IN CHIEF’

"We’ve learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed ‘dictator-in-chief,’" Paul said in a statement announcing the amendment. "No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., clashed with Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser and director of the NIAID, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine the federal response to COVID-19 and new emerging variants on Jan. 11, 2022 at Capitol Hill in Washington. (GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

"This will create accountability and oversight into a taxpayer funded position that has largely abused its power, and has been responsible for many failures and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Each of the three institutes proposed by Paul would be led by a director who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a 5-year term. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"I’ve been a physician for over 33 years," Paul wrote in a piece Monday for Fox News Digital. "In all my years studying and practicing medicine, I had never encountered someone with the gall to proclaim himself ‘the science’ and portray anyone opposing him as ‘attacking science.’ That is, until Dr. Fauci became the COVID dictator-in-chief."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., arrives for a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine the federal response to  examine the federal response to COVID-19 and new emerging variants on Jan. 11, 2022, at Capitol Hill in Washington.  (GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

"The biggest lesson we have learned over the last two years is that no one person should have this much unchecked power," he wrote. "And my amendment, which will get a vote this week, will finally force accountability and fire Dr. Fauci."