Rand Paul presses Fauci on creation of ‘super viruses’ in tense Senate hearing exchange

Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci had a tense exchange during a Senate hearing when the two discussed “juicing up super viruses” in labs.

“Gain of function research, as you know, is juicing up naturally occurring animal viruses to infect humans,” Paul said to Fauci during a Senate hearing on the coronavirus on Tuesday.

“To arrive at the truth, the U.S. government should admit that the Wuhan Virology Institute was experimenting to enhance the coronavirus’s ability to infect humans. Juicing up super viruses is not new. Scientists in the U.S. have long known how to mutate animal viruses to infect humans.”

Paul went on to say that a U.S. virologist has collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on how to create “super viruses” while being funded by the National Institutes of Health, where Fauci serves as NIAID director.

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“Do still support funding of the NIH funding of the lab in Wuhan?” Paul asked.

“Sen. Paul, with all due respect, you are entirely and completely incorrect that the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute,” Fauci responded.

The exchange comes after the pair of doctors have sparred during Senate hearings about the particulars of the coronavirus, including in September when Paul questioned Fauci on how preexisting cross-reactive immunity could potentially stop the spread of COVID-19, citing data from Asia. Fauci told Paul that there was no evidence making that case.

But in November, Paul took a victory lap when the New York Times published research backing up his claims and showed that some adults, and even more children, carried an antibody that can prevent coronavirus infection, including COVID-19.

Then, in March, the two had another heated exchange during a Senate hearing over coronavirus restrictions, with Paul accusing Fauci of performing theater by wearing two masks.

“If we’re not spreading the infection, isn’t it just theater?” the Kentucky Republican asked Fauci during a Senate hearing. “If you’ve had the vaccine and you’re wearing two masks, isn’t that theater?”

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“No, it’s not — here we go again with the theater,” Fauci responded.

“Let me just state for the record that masks are not theater. Masks are protective,” he added, which is supported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.