Anthony Fauci Heckled by Audience During Appearance Before Congress

Anthony Fauci faced heckles from the audience while he testified before a congressional committee about the coronavirus pandemic on Monday.

The doctor and scientist, who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for 38 years before retiring in 2022, provided testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic about the origins of—and federal response to—the outbreak on Monday.

Fauci was a key leader in crafting the U.S. response to the COVID-19 virus, which has killed more than 1.2 million Americans since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

During his testimony, some in attendance heckled Fauci over COVID-19 policies.

"My grandmother is dead because of you," one heckler said.

Another called him a "traitor."

Newsweek reached out via email on Wednesday to Georgetown University Medical Center's communications team on behalf of Fauci, who holds a professorship there.

It remains unclear who exactly was responsible for the heckling.

Fauci has faced scrutiny from many conservatives over his handling of the pandemic. Many on the right viewed the government's measures to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, such as states instituting lockdowns, as an overstep. Others, however, have praised his role in working to prevent the spread of the virus.

During the hearing, Republican lawmakers were critical of Fauci as lawmakers pressed him about the measures implemented to mitigate the virus.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, said she would only refer to him as "Mr. Fauci," rather than "Dr. Fauci." She accused the government of "making up guidelines like six feet distancing and masking children."

Fauci noted during his testimony that the six-foot social distancing guidelines originated from the CDC, not him.

"It had little to do with me since I didn't make the recommendation," Fauci added. "And my saying that there was no science behind it means there was no clinical trial that proved that."

He said that closures of businesses and schools, as well as stay-at-home orders, were "important when we were trying to stop the tsunami of deaths that were occurring early on" but that it was "debatable" how long they should have lasted.

Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, defended Fauci, accusing some members of Congress of wanting to "drag [his] name through the mud."

"They're treating you, Dr. Fauci, like a convicted felon. Actually, you probably wish they were treating you like a convicted felon. They treat them with love and admiration. Some of them blindly worship convicted felons," Raskin said, taking a jab at former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty of falsifying business documents last week.

Fauci also addressed the theory that the virus stemmed from a lab in Wuhan, China, saying that he always kept an "open mind" about that possibility.

Most scientists initially believed that the virus was likely transmitted to "patient zero" via a bat in an open-air market in Wuhan. However, a second theory that the virus could have been man-made and accidentally leaked from a nearby lab has also gained traction.

Update 6/3/24, 12:30 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.