Fauci to testify before Congress about ‘serious systemic failures’ surrounding COVID-19

For the first time since stepping down as the chief medical adviser to President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci will testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on June 3.

The testimony from Fauci was announced on Wednesday by subcommittee chair Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH). In late January, Fauci went through two days of interviews with the subcommittee after agreeing to testify late last year.

The closed-door interviews focused on numerous topics that have come up before, including alleged federal records violations, conflicts of interest, confusion around pandemic guidance, and gain-of-function research.

“During Dr. Fauci’s closed-door interview in January, he testified to serious systemic failures in our public health system that deserve further investigation, including his testimony that the ‘6 feet apart’ social distancing guidance — which was used to shut down small businesses and schools across America — ‘sort of just appeared,’” Wenstrup said in a statement.

Wenstrup continued, saying that Fauci, who he described as “the face of America’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” had the duty to respond to the statements he said “raise serious questions that warrant public scrutiny.”

What was said in the closed-door interviews is still not known, though Wenstrup did share that a transcript would be shared before the June hearing.