Debbie Lesko, Andy Biggs signal investigations coming as Fauci announces his retirement

Republicans including Reps. Andy Biggs and Debbie Lesko teased congressional investigations of Dr. Anthony Fauci Monday if the GOP retakes the House in November.

Fauci, the top White House medical adviser, announced he is leaving the federal government after more than 50 years fighting disease outbreaks and other public health threats at the National Institutes of Health. He spent much his career in the background, advising seven presidents on public health issues ranging from HIV/AIDS in the 1980s to a smattering of global disease outbreaks after the turn of the century. His work as the public face of the scientific community's response to COVID-19 catapulted made Fauci a household name.

But he frequently clashed with former President Donald Trump and allies by disputing incorrect claims made by Trump on the pandemic and by calling for longer and strengthened lockdowns throughout the 2020 election and became reviled by the political right.

“House Republicans will hold Dr. Fauci accountable for authorizing gain-of-function research in Communist China and encouraging authoritarian COVID mandates that destroyed millions of Americans’ lives,” Lesko, R-Ariz., said Monday in a Twitter message.

Gain-of-function research is the focal point of a theory that COVID-19 originated in a virology lab in Wuhan, China, the first global epicenter of the pandemic. Republican Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., have accused Fauci of indirectly funding the Wuhan research that they say could have led to the first COVID-19 outbreak.

Public health: Anthony Fauci to step down in December

No evidence has emerged to support such a theory and the NIH consistently has denied any ties to organizational funding and gain-of-function research in Wuhan. In July, top scientists published research that found the lab leak theory is “without scientifically validated evidence.” It is much likelier, they contend, that the virus "evolved in nature."

Still, Republicans are promising congressional investigations on the topic if they retake control of the House.

“Fauci’s resignation will not prevent a full-throated investigation into the origins of the pandemic,” Paul said Monday in a statement to Fox News Digital. “He will be asked to testify under oath regarding any discussions he participated in concerning the lab leak.”

On Twitter, Biggs, R-Ariz., took it further.

“Dr. Fauci is conveniently resigning from his position in December before House Republicans have an opportunity to hold him accountable for destroying our country over these past three years,” Biggs tweeted. “This guy is a coward.”

It isn't clear what Biggs meant by implying that Fauci had “destroyed the country.” Biggs and his office did not immediately respond to attempts by The Arizona Republic to seek comment.

In a subsequent tweet, Biggs attributed the unemployment, school closures and increasing rates of child abuse and domestic violence registered during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic directly to the virus mitigation protocols promoted by Fauci and NIH.

And he tied Fauci's retirement to Rep. Liz Cheney's defeat last week in the Wyoming Republican primary election. Cheney, who has openly criticized Trump's actions in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot and was one of 10 House Republicans who voted for his impeachment in early 2021, found herself in the political crosshairs of a party that has reshaped itself around Trump.

“Make no mistake,” Biggs tweeted. “My colleagues and I will hold Dr. Fauci accountable whether or not he remains in public office.”

Fauci has brushed off suggestions that he is leaving office now to avoid any House investigations.

"I want to use what I have learned as NIAID Director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats," he said Monday in an NIH statement.

President Joe Biden worked closely with Fauci during President Barack Obama's administration when the two were coordinating the country's responses to Ebola and the Zika virus. Obama, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., joined Biden in thanking Fauci.

"As he leaves his position in the U.S. Government, I know the American people and the entire world will continue to benefit from Dr. Fauci’s expertise in whatever he does next," Biden said Monday in a written statement. "Whether you’ve met him personally or not, he has touched all Americans’ lives with his work.

Gregory Svirnovskiy is a Pulliam Fellow at The Arizona Republic. You can follow him on Twitter @gsvirnovskiy or reach him by email at gregory.svirnovskiy@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Anthony Fauci retirement: Debbie Lesko, Andy Biggs tease investigation