Republicans call for Dr Fauci to be fired or resign after umpteen U-turns on COVID and its origins: He now tries to DEFEND giving $600K to Wuhan lab to study how viruses can transmit from bats to humans before the COVID outbreak
(excerpts)
House Rep. Warren Davidson called for firing of Dr. Anthony Fauci
Davidson, a Republican from Ohio, introduced the 'FIRED Act'
FIRED stands for 'Fauci Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal'
Republicans have blasted Fauci over mask guidance, origins of coronavirus
Fauci on Tuesday appeared before a Congressional budget committee
He defended the spending of $600,000 on the Wuhan laboratory
Scientists now believe it is possible that COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan lab
Fauci said the money, to be spend over five years, was 'modest'

He denied again that the cash was spent on 'gain of function' research
The controversial experiments make viruses more deadly or transmissible
On May 11 Fauci and Rand Paul sparred over how the U.S. funding was spent
Fauci insisted it was not spent on 'gain of function'; Paul said it was
Trump on Tuesday reacted with delight at people now believing 'lab leak'
China's state-backed media has accused Fauci of 'fanning a huge lie'
By ARIEL ZILBER and HARRIET ALEXANDER
26 May 2021

Republican lawmakers demanded Dr. Anthony Fauci be terminated from his role as the nation's top infectious disease expert after he was accused of flip-flopping on key COVID-related topics like mask-wearing and the origins of the coronavirus.

House Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio, on Tuesday proposed the 'FIRED Act' - whose acronym stands for 'Fauci Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal.'

'Dr. Fauci is at odds with the [Centers for Disease Control],' Davidson told Fox News.

'He has repeatedly put political science ahead of the science on COVID-19.'

Republicans have criticized Fauci and other public health officials for telling the public to refrain from mask-wearing in the early days of the pandemic before reversing the guidance as the case count increased nationwide last year.

House Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio
Dr Anthony Fauci on Tuesday appeared before a House committee to discuss the budget
House Rep. Warren Davidson (seen left in December), a Republican from Ohio, on Tuesday proposed the 'FIRED Act' - whose acronym stands for 'Fauci Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal.' Dr Anthony Fauci (right) on Tuesday appeared before a House committee to discuss the budget

Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), appeared before a Congressional budget committee on Tuesday. He defended allocating $600,000 to a group called EcoHealth Alliance, which then paid the Wuhan Institute of Virology to study the risk that bat coronaviruses could infect humans.

Fauci's critics also seized on comments he made criticizing the decision by Republican governors of Texas and other states to lift mask mandates in March.

At the time, Fauci, other epidemiologists, and top Democrats, including President Joe Biden, blasted the decision as premature - though COVID-19 cases have continued to drop in those states as well as nationwide.

House Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told Fox News on Tuesday that the mixed messaging from Fauci was 'nothing new.'

'He has been wrong, intentionally deceptive, and inconsistent throughout this entire pandemic,' Reschenthaler said.

'A few examples of Fauci's failures include: claiming there was very little risk to Americans in January of 2020, opposing President Trump's China travel ban then crediting it with saving lives, and wrongly predicting an explosion of cases in Texas after Gov. Abbott lifted the state mask mandates.

'It is long past time for Dr. Fauci to stop talking to the American public. Fauci should resign or be fired immediately.'

Earlier on Tuesday, Fauci defended the United States' 'modest' and 'very respectable' funding of the Wuhan laboratory - which is now at the center of speculation as a possible source of the COVID-19 virus.

Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), appeared before a Congressional budget committee on Tuesday.

He defended allocating $600,000 to a group called EcoHealth Alliance, which then paid the Wuhan Institute of Virology to study the risk that bat coronaviruses could infect humans.

Under the terms of the funding, the money could not be spend on 'gain of function' research - a controversial practice which explores how viruses mutate and become more transmissible or more dangerous.

Fauci said the research was essential, pointing out that the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s was eventually traced back to bats.

'I would have been almost a dereliction of our duty if we didn't study this, and the only way you can study these things is you've got to go where the action is,' he said.

'You don't want to study bats in Fairfax County, Virginia, to find out what the animal-human interface is that might lead to a jumping of species.

'So we had a modest collaboration with very respectable Chinese scientists who were world experts on coronavirus, and we did that through a sub-grant from a larger grant to EcoHealth.'

Paul told Fauci: 'You're fooling with mother nature here. You're allowing super viruses to be created with a 15% mortality. It's very dangerous and it was a huge mistake to share this with China.

'We should be very careful to investigate where this virus came from.'

More at source including videos:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9619697/Calls-Fauci-resign-flip-flopping-origins-COVID.html