Senator Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, directed an expletive at Dr. Anthony Fauci during Wednesday’s Senate hearing on the origins of Covid-19 and the government’s handling of the pandemic, a session in which Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right rather than answer questions.
Moreno told Fauci he had decided to run for office shortly after learning that a woman had been arrested at an Ohio middle school football game in 2020 for refusing to wear a mask, which reportedly violated the school’s policy at the time.
Addressing Fauci directly, Moreno said the following:
“Here I am sitting in front of you six years later, saying, who the f— do you think you were for doing that?” Moreno asked Fauci during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, seemingly referring to the doctor’s views on masking requirements in the country during the health crisis.
Read more: Hantavirus: outbreak is not like COVID, experts warn (with video)
“It is a total disgrace what you did to this country, and if my Democrat colleagues are standing there defending you, I hope the voters, the United States of America, watch the clips of every one of you doting on a guy who is more interested in being a celebrity than saving American people.”
During his questioning, Moreno also asked Fauci to turn around and face members of the audience who had publicly criticized the government’s pandemic response under his leadership, including Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who was among those present. Fauci declined the request, turning instead to face his attorneys.
Moreno pressed him further, asking directly whether he was willing to simply turn and look at the people behind him, framing it not as a question but a request, and asking why Fauci couldn’t look up from his lawyers to face people he said had been shamed for saying things that have since proven true.
