Tensions Rise Between Fauci, GOP Over Covid-19 Pandemic Response

Public polling shows that most Republicans and some independent voters dislike Dr. Fauci, limiting his audience as the administration tries to explain the risks of the Omicron variant. Some Republicans say Dr. Fauci isn’t open to criticism, and they have asserted that he has lied about the National Institutes of Health’s work in China on medical research to genetically alter organisms. Dr. Fauci has denied that he lied and said he is being targeted by Republicans for backing science.

On Tuesday, Dr. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said at the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing that Mr. Paul was making false personal attacks on him for political reasons. “In usual fashion, I think you are distorting everything about me,” Dr. Fauci said. “You keep coming back to personal attacks on me that have absolutely no relevance to reality.”

He said the senator’s comments were fueling death threats and harassment of his family and children. Dr. Fauci last year received an armed security detail following online threats. Administration officials said they have been shocked at the level of vitriol directed at Dr. Fauci, from anti-Fauci T-shirts that are for sale online to people comparing him to a Nazi.

In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Paul accused Dr. Fauci of avoiding questions “by ginning up the idea that his opponents are the cause of threats.”

Mr. Paul, an ophthalmologist by training who has repeatedly called on Dr. Fauci to be fired, accused Dr. Fauci of ignoring alternative perspectives in the scientific community and imposing his viewpoints on the country.

“Everything that I have said has been in support of the CDC guidelines: wear a mask, get boosted, get vaccinated,” Dr. Fauci said, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Following months of criticism from Republicans, Dr. Fauci has increasingly fought back, buoyed by Biden administration officials who are taking a more confrontational approach in response to false information about the pandemic that they believe has led millions of Americans to not get vaccinated.

At Tuesday’s hearing, a microphone picked up Dr. Fauci muttering, “What a moron” and “Jesus Christ” after a heated exchange with Mr. Marshall, a doctor, about whether Dr. Fauci files annual financial disclosure forms and how easily available they are. Dr. Fauci files annual disclosure reports, which the public can request from National Institutes of Health. Dr. Fauci declined to comment for this article.

Dr. Fauci is one of just three U.S. political leaders who were viewed positively by the majority of Americans in a December Gallup poll. He ranked below Chief Justice John Roberts and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell with a 52% approval rating—well above Mr. Biden and congressional leaders of both parties.

But Republicans and Democrats viewed Dr. Fauci differently. Eighty-five percent of Democrats viewed him positively, compared with just 19% of Republicans. Dr. Fauci had a 48% approval rating among independents, according to the poll. He has picked up support from independents since August.

“If I’m a senator from a Republican state like Rand Paul, this is not a popular person. It isn’t a problem to be aggressive, it absolutely cannot hurt him,” said Robert Blendon, an emeritus professor of health policy and politics at Harvard University.

The broader issue, Mr. Blendon said, is that “we have politicized this between parties and we’ve never had epidemics or natural disasters politicized. In polio, there wasn’t a Democratic or Republican view.”

Dr. Fauci’s office is often bombarded with interview requests and he sometimes plans media appearances on his own, rarely declining requests, an administration official said. He has appeared on small podcasts, the radio and cable television, including Fox News, in an effort to reach audiences with differing viewpoints.

Republicans have stepped up their condemnation of the Biden administration response to Covid-19 amid an explosion of cases caused by the Omicron variant.

Republican Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and James Comer of Kentucky on Monday called on House Democrats to hold a hearing on “his administration’s failure to shut down the coronavirus as promised,” according to a letter to Democratic Select Subcommittee Chairman James Clyburn of South Carolina and Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney of New York.

The rapid rise in infections has led to more Americans saying in political polls that they are unhappy with the administration’s response effort. The seven-day average of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. soared to about 751,000 as of Jan. 10, up from about 80,000 as of Nov. 29, according to the CDC.

The administration is ratcheting up its defense of Dr. Fauci. In an unusual move, Health and Human Services spokesman Ian Sams on Tuesday issued a statement defending Dr. Fauci and accusing Republicans of spreading misinformation.

“At a time when America is seeing rising Covid cases, it’s disappointing and frankly unacceptable that Republican senators chose to spend a hearing with the country’s leading public health experts spreading conspiracy theories and lies about Dr. Fauci, rather than how we protect people from Covid-19,” Mr. Sams said.

Some administration officials said they are feeling increasingly frustrated with GOP rhetoric they say is distorted or inaccurate.

Republicans and some outside coronavirus researchers, meanwhile, have said they are growing more concerned because they feel the administration is fumbling its pandemic response. Some have said the White House should have done more to ensure adequate supplies of Covid-19 rapid tests, for example, and have described new CDC guidance on quarantining as confusing for the public.

“This administration has time and again squandered its opportunities and made things worse in the decisions you’ve made on testing and treatments and most crucially in communicating with the American people,” Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.) said at the hearing Tuesday.

Controversy has trailed Dr. Fauci since the onset of the pandemic, when his clout grew and right-wing conspiracy theories accused him of being part of a deep state plot to undermine then-President Donald Trump’s re-election effort. Democrats largely embraced Dr. Fauci as a truth teller.

While the White House Covid-19 briefings showcase a number of top administration leaders, including CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, Dr. Fauci makes frequent public appearances on news shows and other venues for the administration.

White House officials said they view Dr. Fauci as an asset who can explain complicated issues clearly to the public. Dr. Fauci and Mr. Biden have developed a close relationship and speak to each other almost daily, according to an administration official.

But Dr. Fauci has sometimes made public statements that conflict with the Biden administration’s policy positions. Last month, Dr. Fauci appeared to suggest that the U.S. should consider requiring vaccination against Covid-19 for domestic air travel, comments he later walked back.

Write to Stephanie Armour at stephanie.armour@wsj.com and Andrew Restuccia at andrew.restuccia@wsj.com