Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, expressed outrage over new revelations that recently retired ex-NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci is privy to a security detail that is taxpayer reimbursed.
Documents obtained by the “Jesse Watters Primetime” talk show from the U.S. Marshals Service through a request described how the marshals took over the responsibility at the beginning of 2023 from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
In June, Paul sent a letter to Xavier Becerra, HHS Secretary, requesting additional details about Fauci’s unique taxpayer-funded benefits and current employment status.
Host Jesse Watters said a source’s tip led to a FOIA request to the U.S. Marshals that revealed Fauci’s security detail. Watters reported the documents also stated Dr. Fauci’s perks include limousine transportation.
Paul said he additionally was told Fauci still has a detail and that he questioned HHS about it.
“HHS actually came back to us and said they haven’t been paying for it since January. But then we discovered that Fox did a Freedom of Information Act, and a judge forced them to say, “Well, while HHS wasn’t directly funding it, the U.S. Marshals were funding it,” said Paul.
Paul says federal officials told him they were not directly paying for Fauci’s detail
Paul said the federal officials told him they were not paying for it directly but that “somebody else is doing it, and then we’re reimbursing them.”
“So, it’s a terrible example of the government lying to its representatives and to the people. But also, why is a retired guy, the only retired official I know of that gets this kind of treatment is a former president,” added Paul.
“So, I have no idea why this bureaucrat still has limo driver security detail,” continued Paul.
The senator wondered aloud if Fauci also gets pro bono legal representation in retirement and quipped the doctor might need it one day.
Senator Paul said Fauci’s wealth increased by 30% during the pandemic and that he should be capable of affording his own security without expending taxpayer funds.
Fauci rose to become the highest-paid federal official by the end of his 54-year career in the bureaucracy.
Senator Paul and the doctor often sparred while he was NIAID, with Paul once asking if he wanted to revise past testimony to Congress based on new revelations at the time. At the same time, Fauci once notably declared the Kentuckian — an ophthalmologist — and had “no idea what he was talking about” regarding his coronavirus medical analysis.
Fauci has since been replaced at NIAID by Dr. Hugh Auchincloss in an acting capacity, an immunologist and father of Democrat Representative Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts.
