Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is scheduled to question Dr. Anthony Fauci during a congressional hearing on July 29, 2026, regarding his involvement in gain-of-function research funding related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Paul has accused Fauci of obscuring his role in funding research at the Wuhan lab and has stated that his investigation has revealed attempts to manipulate the narrative surrounding COVID-19's origins.
MAHA Action, a nonprofit group linked to the Make America Healthy Again movement, expressed support for the hearing, citing ongoing questions about Fauci's handling of the pandemic and his alleged direct role in funding research at the Wuhan lab.
Fauci has previously testified before Congress multiple times since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he has been questioned by Paul regarding bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which received funding from EcoHealth Alliance starting in 2014. Paul claims that Fauci concealed connections between federal funding and research in China that may have contributed to the pandemic.
Recently, Paul released declassified documents that he claims show Fauci's influence over U.S. intelligence agencies to classify the pandemic as a natural occurrence rather than a lab leak. Additionally, former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released documents indicating that Fauci misled U.S. spy agencies about the lab-leak theory.
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which Paul chairs, will conduct the hearing with Fauci. On the same day, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) requested that the acting Attorney General appoint a special counsel to investigate Fauci for his guidance during the pandemic and questioned the legitimacy of a pardon issued to Fauci by former President Joe Biden.