In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin decries baseless claims leveled against Dr. Fauci by some Republicans
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today took to the Senate floor to express his support for Dr. Anthony Fauci—Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—and praised him for using his expertise to see the United States through numerous public health crises like HIV/AIDS, SARS, avian flu, swine flu, Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19. In his speech, Durbin called out Dr. Fauci’s Republican detractors for spreading lies about Dr. Fauci and his motivations.
“Dr. Fauci has devoted his career, his life, to improving public health. He has saved countless lives here and around the world. These days, he’s working 18 hour days, 7 days a week, shuttling from NIH to the White House and back home. He is a classic example of American excellence, a brilliant scientific mind, and yet despite all this, some members of today’s Republican Party have chosen to make him a political target,” said Durbin.
Durbin went on to denounce the Republican Party’s strategy of building distrust in Dr. Fauci in order to distract from the party’s own neglect in handling the COVID-19 pandemic seriously.
“You see, the Republican Party has consistently failed the American people when it came to COVID. From President Trump refusing to take it seriously, to the discouraging of mask wearing and vaccines, to promoting horse tranquilizers and bleach as a cure. They have too little courage to face their communities and do the hard work of governing during this public health crisis, so they invited a convenient target to focus their blame,” Durbin continued. “Why would they attack this public servant who has worked around the clock to keep us safe? Because it’s much easier to malign a person than it is to do the hard work of enacting policies to tackle the virus and keep communities healthy.”
“Dr. Fauci’s name is – and deserves to be – listed alongside our world’s greatest scientific minds. History will reserve another place for those who lied about him for their own gain, inciting hatred, prolonging this pandemic, and contributing to needless pain and suffering,” Durbin concluded.
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