Fauci says he will cooperate with House Republican inquiry into Covid origins
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the coronavirus during the White House press briefing on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
tom williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
US intelligence agencies under the Biden administration, in an assessment released in August 2021, were split on the most likely origin.
One agency had moderate confidence that the virus had infected people after a lab incident, while four agencies rated with low confidence that the virus had a natural origin, according to the assessment, which did not identified these agencies.
Earlier this year, Fauci announced he would step down in December after leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly 40 years.
For decades, Fauci has been respected as a public health official on both sides of the political aisle.
But as the pandemic response became increasingly politicized under then-President Donald Trump, a Republican, Fauci became a lightning rod for many conservatives in Congress.
In addition to arguing with them over the origins of the virus, Fauci has also clashed with Congressional Republicans on several occasions over mask and vaccine policy.
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