Sen. Rand Paul's criticism on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci was unfounded, as the doctor had never claimed to be "omniscient" with his actions, Sen. Lamar Alexander said Wednesday.
"Now, Dr. Fauci isn't holding himself up as an omniscient person," the Tennessee Republican said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "He’s saying what he thinks as a person who's been in charge of infectious diseases since 1984, since Ronald Reagan's day," Alexander explained. "And, then it's up to the president and the governors and the mayors to take that advice and make decisions, so I wouldn't characterize him as trying to be omniscient. I don't think he tries to do that at all. He gives good advice and then you can take the advice or leave it."
During Tuesday's Senate Health Committee hearing, Paul, R-Ky., told Fauci, a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, that he respects him, but he doesn't think he's the "end all" when it comes to the response to the pandemic.
"We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side saying there's not going to be a surge," Paul said, while claiming schools can reopen this fall as the virus appears to be less of a danger to children.
"And I think the one-size-fits-all, that we’re going to have a national strategy and nobody is going to go to school, is kind of ridiculous," said Paul, who is the only senator to have had a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Fauci responded that as a scientist, physician, and public health official, he gives advice according to the "best scientific evidence."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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