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Republican lawmakers say that President Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci leaving his government post won’t stop them from holding him “accountable.”
Fauci’s December departure from the Biden administration was announced on Monday, with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director saying he was “not retiring,” but looking to “pursue the next chapter” of his career.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who sparred many times with Fauci in the Senate, said, “Fauci’s resignation will not prevent a full-throated investigation into the origins of the pandemic.”
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI TO STEP DOWN IN DECEMBER
Dr. Anthony Fauci and Sen. Rand Paul have sparred several times in the Senate.
(Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
“He will be asked to testify under oath regarding any discussions he participated in concerning the lab leak,” Paul told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“Retirement can’t shield Dr. Fauci from congressional oversight,” House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky., wrote on Twitter.
“The American people deserve transparency and accountability about how government officials used their taxpayer dollars, and [House Oversight Republicans] will deliver,” Comer added.
Republican Study Committee chairman Jim Banks tweeted, “Republicans must remain committed to holding Fauci accountable even after he steps down to make sure no one in his position ever abuses the public trust again.”
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., tweeted that Fauci leaving his post in December will not stop Republicans from “holding him accountable.”
“So Dr. Fauci is stepping down in December,” Issa wrote. “That won’t stop a Republican Congress from telling the truth about his disastrous tenure and holding him accountable for the mistakes he made and the lies he told.”
Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs blasted Fauci as “a coward” and accused Biden’s chief medical adviser of “conveniently resigning from his position in December before House Republicans have an opportunity to hold him accountable for destroying our country over these past three years.”
Fauci is stepping down from his NIAID post after 38 years of working the gig.
“I am announcing today that I will be stepping down from the positions of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, as well as the position of Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden,” Fauci said on Monday. “I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career.”
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to have led the NIAID, an extraordinary institution, for so many years and through so many scientific and public health challenges,” he continued. “I am very proud of our many accomplishments.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci
(Getty Images)
Fauci’s announcement comes as Republicans are expected to take back the House this November.
Fox News’ Power Rankings show the projected Republican gains have shrunk since the last pulse read in July.
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The rankings still project Republicans will take the House, but the majority will likely be between two and 30 seats depending on the results of toss-up districts across America. Should the GOP win half of the toss-up races in the nation, Republicans would be sitting with a 16-seat majority in the lower chamber.
However, there are probably fewer seats in play for the GOP than there were in July. In the last rankings, Republicans were expected to take a 22-seat majority (again, assuming they win half the toss-up races). With a new estimated majority of 16 seats, the GOP net gain has shrunken by six over the last six weeks.
Fox News Digital’s Rémy Numa contributed reporting.