Senate committee advances Fauci contempt referral; Schwartz confirmed as new CDC director
Senators green-lighted two votes in the past 24 hours centered on the country’s past and future public health leadership.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-7 along party lines to advance a contempt vote against Anthony Fauci, M.D., the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci, 85, had invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during previous appearances before Congress, describing the scrutiny as an "unhinged obsession" from Chairman Rand Paul, M.D., of Kentucky.
The committee's action comes amid ongoing criticism of Fauci's statements regarding the origins of the coronavirus and potential government funding involvement. If the contempt referral moves forward, it would require 60 votes in the Senate for Fauci to be referred to the Department of Justice. Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz, M.D., as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), filling a nearly year-long vacancy.
Schwartz, a board-certified preventive medicine physician and retired rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, expressed her commitment to vaccine safety during her confirmation hearing, stating that she "will never betray the science" on these issues. However, some senators expressed concerns that she might be pressured to overlook established science on vaccine safety, potentially influenced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Written by urgent.news from Fierce Healthcare's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
