The Senate Got Spicy Today, Courtesy of Anthony Fauci and Rand Paul

Politics The Scariest Part of the Senate’s COVID Hearing Had Nothing to Do With Anthony Fauci A spicy clash made headlines, but something more sinister is happening here. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Win McNamee/Getty Images, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images, and Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters. This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day. Sometimes in life, you draw the short straw. Such was the case today for Molly Olmstead. As Slate’s resident expert on conspiracy theories, it fell to Molly to watch this morning’s Senate hearing that pitted Anthony Fauci—who was a top White House adviser on COVID-19 to Presidents Trump and Biden—against a bunch of really angry Republicans, including an extremely fired-up Sen. Rand Paul. I spent this morning screen-free (five stars, highly recommend), but when I came back to my desk, there was a flood of clips, news alerts, and social media posts about what seems to have been quite the hearing. So I asked Molly to explain what happened this morning, what more broadly is going on with Republicans and COVID-19, and what, if anything, from today’s dustup will matter down the road. OK Molly. Why is everyone talking about Anthony Fauci and Rand Paul? After a subpoena from Paul, Fauci appeared this morning before a Senate panel where Republicans were demanding answers about a host of COVID-era controversies. They did not get them, however: Fauci read an opening statement in which he said he’d addressed all these subjects before. From there, he was quiet, invoking the Fifth Amendment in response to literally any question he faced. How did that go over? Well, these hearings are usually places for lawmakers to vent their feelings at witnesses in the hopes of creating clips that go viral anyway, so this was sort of the drearier version of that. Republicans kept asking about COVID conspiracy theories and suggesting Fauci had blood on his hands, but Fauci wouldn’t give them anything in the way of material. The spiciest thing that happened was that Paul had Fauci’s lawyer escorted out of the hearing after he tried to respond to lawmakers when Fauci wouldn’t. Why was Fauci on the Hill to begin with? What was Paul looking to achieve? “Jail Fauci” is a popular slogan among MAGA and MAHA influencers, and Paul has long used the threat of legal consequences against Fauci to become the congressional face of that movement. This was part of that campaign. It’s also part of a broader effort to get people talking about COVID again ahead of the midterms, where Republicans think it’ll be a winning topic for them. And why did I hear so much about Fauci’s diary this week? Paul released excerpts from said diary earlier this week. (Yes, Fauci kept a diary from that time and somehow it got into the hands of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who gave the pages to Paul.) The diary entries were supposed to show that Fauci had lied to the public or in some way acted on improper motivations—though I think they more reflect Fauci’s internal debates over how to communicate things at a time when the science was shifting so quickly. That said, there is some embarrassing stuff in there, suggesting Fauci was enamored with his own celebrity and relished the limelight. Then again, we don’t have the full context of the excerpts, so it’s hard to know for sure what we’re looking at. What happens next?Well, Republicans are promising consequences for Fauci for having taken the Fifth, but there is a big hurdle there: On his way out of office, Biden issued Fauci a blanket pardon for his work in government on COVID. That would make prosecuting him extremely difficult. Lots of hearings happen on Capitol Hill, get one news cycle, and then are forever subducted under the plates of public memory. Will any of today’s hearing matter down the road? So, I think this was, in a large way, for MAGA and MAHA [Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement] influencers. They’ve been clamoring for jailing Fauci for a long time, and this is lawmakers showing they’re taking action. For the public, I think Republicans will try to use Fauci’s nonanswers as evidence of him being callous toward Americans who suffered under COVID and who are looking for an outlet for those frustrations. I think the bigger issue is less about Fauci and more about his critics. The pandemic response was far from perfect, and there are tons of legitimate critiques. But today reminded us that this is a party that has given in to conspiracy theories at the most extreme level. You had these unfounded claims of thousands of Americans dying from vaccines, and not a single Republican voice on the committee pushing back. That’s scary. Tolga Akdoğan OK, now you’re safe from watching a multihour Senate hearing. Instead, might we suggest an inspiring essay on democracy, or a fun quiz, or a movie recommendation, or even a series of fun pieces on revenge? Consider what’s possible. We’ve said it a few times in this newsletter, but sometimes one of the best ways to stop spiraling about the news is to focus on potential solutions. As part of “By the People,” Slate’s series exploring how Americans can reclaim the Constitution and the law, Alexis Romero outlined three possible fixes for an out-of-control Supreme Court. Put a perfect little movie on your to-watch list. Slate’s movie critic, Dana Stevens, loved Tony, the new biopic about Anthony Bourdain. In advance of its release in August, she explains why it’s one to look forward to. Test your knowledge of historical trivia. Who was the first graduate of West Point to become the president of the United States? In which decade did Germany print a 100 trillion mark note? If you’re a history buff, you’ll love today’s Slate quiz. Dive into some juicy tales of revenge. Last summer, we decided to dedicate a whole week to writing about revenge: how it fuels and consumes us, how it succeeds, and how it backfires, from the White House to cheating spouses to that bad boss who totally deserved it. And this collection of pieces is still fascinating one year later! That’s it for us. Have a great night, and thanks so much for reading. Get the best of news and politics Sign up for Slate's evening newsletter.