Republicans Propose Bill To Fire Fauci Amid Growing Discontent With Top Biden Medical Officials
As public dissatisfaction with top Biden health officials rises, a group of House Republicans will introduce legislation on Wednesday to effectively fire top U.S. epidemiologist Anthony Fauci.
The bill is sponsored by Republican Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio) — officially known as the “Fauci’s Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal (FIRED) Act.”
Republicans propose bill to fire Fauci amid growing discontent with top Biden medical officialshttps://t.co/trWVEnlX5A
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 12, 2021
“Few people have earned their termination more visibly,” Davidson reportedly said. “His excessively long tenure is emblematic of Eisenhower’s farewell address caution against scientific-technical elite steering the country for their own ends — at odds with truth and the national interest.”
A copy of the bill was obtained by Fox News ahead of its filing on Wednesday, and the publication reported that other GOP lawmakers Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Andy Biggs
(Arizona), and Ralph Norman (South Carolina) were among the cosponsors of the bill.
Reports noted that the bill will put a 12-year term limit on Fauci’s official role as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Once the bill is signed into law, the country’s top epidemiologist — who has held the position since 1984 — will be forced to resign.
Experts have called the CDC's public health messaging and guidance cautious, complicated and confusing. “If their advice is too disconnected from reality, and … too slow, then they make themselves irrelevant,” says @GWpublichealth's @DrLeanaWen.https://t.co/1qZ4kBryV1
— Johns Hopkins CCP (@JohnsHopkinsCCP) May 12, 2021
In a social media post, Davidson also introduced his proposal — as he tore down Fauci for confusing, conflicting and restrictive guidelines regarding the US’ Covid-19 response.
“We should #FireFauci. My new bill, the Fauci’s Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal (FIRED) Act, will free Americans from his anti-science approach to the pandemic so we can restore our freedoms,”
Today the House GOP fired Liz Cheney.
Next, we should #FireFauci. My new bill, the Fauci's Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal (FIRED) Act, will free Americans from his anti-science approach to the pandemic so we can restore our freedoms. https://t.co/hx50WKbk2T
— Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) May 12, 2021
“Of course, Davidson’s bill almost certainly has no chance of being signed into law. Even if Democrats in Congress were to support it and it made it through the House and Senate — a prospect that is beyond remote — President Biden would presumably veto it,” Fox News said.
The White House has repeatedly defended Fauci from critics and often lauded their elevated position within the coronavirus response of the Democratic administration with White House Counselor Jeff Zients even earlier saying that the administration is giving medical experts absolute decision on matters related to public health as the administration earlier recommended a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Twice, @jaketapper asks, "With everybody in that room vaccinated, why does [Biden] need to wear a mask?"
Twice, White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients doesn't answer. He says "we're going to rely on science" but doesn't explain why science, in that situation, warrants a mask.
— Will Saletan (@saletan) May 9, 2021
“Science agencies to lead with science,” because political White House officials “bring nothing to the table,” he said.
But despite the slim chance of getting passed, supporters of the bill cited how Davidson’s measure “reflects a broader frustration growing” with Fauci, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health officials of the new Democratic administration.
Senator Susan Collins (Maine), for example, who is one of the most moderate Republicans in Congress, blasted CDC Director Rochelle Walensky saying that she’s lost her respect for the agency.
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Per @rumblevideo
Sen. Susan Collins to @CDCgov director Rochelle Walensky:
"I always considered the CDC to be the gold standard. I don't anymore."https://t.co/7BJULy4u68
— Keith Appell (@KeithAppell) May 12, 2021
“I used to have the utmost respect for the guidance from the CDC. I always considered the CDC to be the gold standard. I don’t anymore,” Collins said on Tuesday.
“The conflicting, confusing guidance from your agency has undermined public confidence and contradicts the scientific guidance of many experts,” she added.
