Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Democrats sought to deflect rather than defend Dr. Anthony Fauci from specific accusations from Republicans that he mishandled COVID-19 pandemic policy and misled the public.

As Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in the highly anticipated hearing Wednesday morning, Democrats declined to rebut arguments from Republicans that he helped cover up the origins of the pandemic and concealed his role in implementing lockdowns. Instead, they tried to redirect attention elsewhere. They said that committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) arranged the hearing through a faulty process. They also blamed the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the recent rise in measles cases.