Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio blasted Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing on July 29, 2026, over COVID-19 lockdowns and masking mandates, using profanity as he questioned the former government scientist’s handling of the pandemic. The hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Senator Rand Paul, centered on the origins of COVID-19 and Fauci’s previous congressional testimony.
“Who the f— do you think you were for doing that?” Moreno asked Fauci, referring to mask mandates and lockdown policies that Moreno has long opposed. “It is a total disgrace what you did to this country, and if my Democrat colleagues are standing there defending you, I hope the voters, the United States of America, watch the clips of every one of you doting on a guy who is more interested in being a celebrity than saving American people,” according to The Hill.
Moreno said his decision to run for office six years earlier stemmed from learning that a woman was arrested at an Ohio middle school football game in 2020 for refusing to wear a mask, which was reportedly the school’s policy at the time. That moment crystallized his opposition to what he views as government overreach during the pandemic response.
Throughout the hearing, Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid answering questions from Republican senators about the origins of COVID-19 and his prior testimony to Congress. The Washington Post reported that Fauci said he was invoking the right “under the advice of my attorneys” to “refrain from answering” questions, citing concerns raised by his legal team about potential perjury charges related to his earlier congressional statements.
Moreno also had one of his aides hand Fauci a copy of the U.S. Constitution as the scientist continued to decline to answer questions. “Do you feel like you’re in deep s—?” Moreno asked, referencing a 2023 Washington Free Beacon article that described one of Fauci’s attorneys, David Schertler, as a lawyer clients only call if “you’re in deep s—.”
Earlier in the hearing, Schertler was removed from the room by Senator Paul after the attorney repeatedly attempted to defend Fauci’s Fifth Amendment invocation. Moreno also asked Fauci to turn around and face audience members who had spoken out against the government’s pandemic response, but Fauci declined, instead turning toward his lawyers.
Moreno has made COVID-era policies a centerpiece of his political career. As a Cleveland businessman and MetroHealth board member in 2020, he initially drew criticism for comments appearing to downplay the need for lockdowns early in the pandemic, though he later said his remarks failed to articulate his full position. Since entering the Senate in 2025, he has continued to challenge what he characterizes as excessive pandemic restrictions, grilling Hawaii Governor Josh Green during a 2025 Senate subcommittee hearing on COVID-era policies and school closures.
The July 29 hearing was one of several recent congressional inquiries into Fauci’s role in the pandemic response. Senator Paul has investigated for years whether COVID-19 leaked from a laboratory and whether Fauci’s agency funded gain-of-function research in China. Fauci’s diary entries, released before the hearing, revealed his thoughts on interactions with Paul and other aspects of his pandemic work, intensifying scrutiny from Republican lawmakers.
Sources
- The Hill — Moreno’s profanity-laden exchange with Fauci, the football game arrest that inspired Moreno’s run for office, and details of the hearing proceedings
- The Washington Post — Fauci’s repeated invocation of the Fifth Amendment and his rationale for declining to answer questions
- Reuters — Confirmation of Fauci’s Fifth Amendment invocation at the Senate hearing
