Sen. Paul Denounces Government-Funded Security For Fauci

One of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s most outspoken critics is at it again — this time taking aim at the former bureaucrat’s life in retirement.

Despite collecting a sizable pension upon leaving his decades-long career at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that Fauci continues to enjoy around-the-clock security services provided at the expense of taxpayers.

During a Fox News Channel interview on Monday, Paul said that the Department of Health and Human Services attempted to obfuscate the matter when asked whether Fauci was still receiving a fully funded security detail.

“HHS actually came back to us and said they haven’t been paying for it since January,” the senator said. “But then we discovered that Fox did a Freedom of Information Act [request] and a judge forced them to say that, well, while HHS wasn’t directly funding it, the U.S. Marshals were funding it.”

Essentially, Paul argued, the arrangement allowed HHS to use a middleman while still providing Fauci with the government-funded security to which he had grown accustomed.

“So it’s a terrible example of the government lying to its representatives and to the people,” Paul added.

He went on to assert that “the only retired official [he knows] of that gets this kind of treatment is a former president,” explaining: “So I have no idea why this bureaucrat still has a limo driver, security detail, and we want to know, does he still get legal representation? Because I think he may need that eventually.”

From there, Paul segued into his ongoing interest in holding Fauci accountable for what he believes was deceptive testimony about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“His wealth increased by 30% during the pandemic, I think he ought to pay for his own security detail and his own legal defense if he needs one,” the Kentucky Republican said.

Recent reports indicate that Paul reached out to Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this month in pursuit of an investigation into Fauci’s 2021 testimony about where COVID-19 originated. At the time, the immunologist insisted that the NIAID “has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”