Anthony Fauci, the face of the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared to become emotional Monday during congressional testimony as he described the harassment and death threats he and his family continue to face.
In his first appearance before Congress since retiring about 18 months ago, Fauci gave a spirited defense of his government work and described the challenges he faced after becoming a punching bag for critics of the federal response to the pandemic. .
“Yes, there has been everything from harassment through emails, text messages, letters from me, my wife, my three daughters,” Fauci said during the House Select Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on the Pandemic. Coronavirus, when asked by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) to describe the harassment she faced.
“There were credible death threats, leading to the arrest of two individuals — and ‘credible death threats’ means someone who was clearly on the way to kill me, and it is necessary for me to have Protective Services essentially at all times,” Fauci continued. “It’s very problematic for me. It’s much more problematic because it involved my wife and three daughters.”
Fauci appeared to be moved by the mention of his daughters and reached out to briefly turn off the microphone.
“In these moments, how do you feel?” Dingell asked, adding a request to leave his microphone on.
“Terrible,” Fauci said, still visibly upset.
“Are you still receiving threats today?” Dingell asked.
“Yes, I do,” Fauci responded. “Every time someone stands up and says I am responsible for the deaths of people around the world, the death threats increase.”
Dingell said it is “unacceptable” that Fauci would experience such harassment, noting that he has dedicated decades of his life to science and public service. She also expressed concern that the death threats he faces could discourage promising young scientists from pursuing a career in the public eye, which led Fauci to agree.
“I think this is a powerful disincentive for young people to want to enter public health and perhaps even science and medicine in the public arena,” Fauci said. “Because it’s very clear that not only me – because I’m a public figure – but many of my colleagues who are less visible than me, whenever they speak out in defense of the kinds of things that we’re trying to do to protect the American public, they also receive threats.
“And when they see their colleagues receiving threats, they say to themselves, ‘I don’t want to go there. Why should I get involved in this? And you have some potentially very good talent that would be important to maintaining the integrity and excellence of the public health enterprise in the United States,” he continued. “We are not getting the best people because they are reluctant to put themselves and their families through what they see their peers go through.”
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