Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) announced he has introduced an amendment into the Senate that would eliminate “Anthony Fauci’s position as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).” According to Sen. Paul, the purpose of the amendment is “to ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again.”
“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.’ No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans,” Paul said in a news release announcing the amendment. He added the amendment “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.”
According to the news release, the amendment would replace NIAID with three separate national research institutes:
- National Institute of Allergic Diseases
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases
- National Institute of Immunologic Diseases
Each new institute will get their own director who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a 5-year term. It is unclear if Dr. Fauci would be eligible to be appointed to one of institutes should NIAID be dissolved.
The amendment comes after Paul and Fauci have sparred multiple times during Senate committee hearings since the pandemic began. Last July, Paul said the U.S. helped fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology while implying that said research is what created COVID-19. This past January, Paul accused Fauci of attacking three scientists who claim the virus originated in a Chinese lab. In turn, Fauci accused Paul of “distorting everything about” Fauci, which has led to threats against his life and harassment of his family.
“What happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there,” Fauci said back in January.
