Trump official denies COVID conspiracies after Fauci hearing backlash

Donald Trump’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director has rejected COVID-19 conspiracy theories after Dr. Anthony Fauci was the target of conservative criticism following a contentious hearing on the coronavirus.

Dr. Robert Redfield weighed in on the hearing that took place this week when Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic about the origins of, and federal response to, the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 1.2 million Americans since 2020, according to CDC data.

The hearing quickly grew contentious, with a number of Republicans, including Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, scrutinizing Fauci’s leadership and guidance during the pandemic.

A number of lawmakers accused the government of overreach in the response to the virus, taking issue with policies such as school shutdowns and the six-foot social distancing rule recommended by the CDC. They have raised concerns about how these policies affected the economy.

There have been a large number of unproven conspiracy theories that have been spread about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, including ones saying that the vaccines do not work despite scientists largely supporting their effectiveness and one stating that the virus was released intentionally by China.

Redfield weighed in on Fauci’s hearing appearance and the conservative response to it during an interview with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation this week.

During the interview, Cuomo asked Redfield if he believed “there was any conspiracy afoot to trash the economy or force the vaccine on people for profit of the men and women involved in running the government agent.”

“No. I don’t believe that,” Redfield said.

Trump’s former CDC chief noted that while he does not believe there was a conspiracy, he still shared some critiques of the government’s response to the pandemic.

“There was overreach. I always argued that you don’t force people to do something, like let’s just say take a vaccine, even though I’m a big advocate for the scientific value of vaccine,” he said. “I think it’s important for you to explain to people why you think the vaccine is in their interest and if they don’t agree then next time you see them, you try to make sure you can explain it again.”

Newsweek reached out to Redfield via the Greater Baltimore Medical Center press office for comment.

Fauci addressed COVID-19 conspiracies during his testimony when he was asked if he believes the discussion that the virus could have stemmed from a lab in Wuhan, China, is a conspiracy.

“I’ve also been very, very clear and said multiple times that I don’t think the concept of there being a lab leak is inherently a conspiracy theory. What is conspiracy is the kind of distortions of that particular subject, like it was a lab leak and I was parachuted into the CIA like Jason Bourne and told the CIA that they should really not be talking about a lab leak,” he said.

Redfield has previously said he believes the virus “escaped” from the Wuhan lab. He led the CDC from 2018-2021.

Newsweek reached out via email on Wednesday to Georgetown University’s communications team on behalf of Fauci, who holds a professorship there.