Braun: Establishment Infatuation with Fauci What's Wrong with D.C.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that the media and Democrat obsession with Dr. Anthony Fauci “shows what’s wrong” with Washington, DC.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), an ophthalmologist, said during a hearing on Tuesday that Dr. Athony Fauci is not the “end all” authority on the coronavirus response. Fauci said recently that if the country reopens too soon during the coronavirus outbreak, it will bring “needless suffering and death.”

Paul, as well as Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), said that many parts of the country are ready to reopen and that the federal government has relied too much on Fauci as the single source for the coronavirus response.

Braun said that the reliance on Fauci as the primary source for the coronavirus response is symbolic for what is wrong with Washington, DC.

He told Breitbart News, “I think that it shows what is wrong with this place over decades where you have had liberal politicians, many so-called conservatives, end up rolling over and allowing the bureaucracy to get that strong.”

Braun continued, “I was glad when Rand brought that up. I took and made the same point that the FDA and the CDC about their SNAFUs, costing us 40 days on getting testing. Of course, the Democrats harp on that all the time, and thank goodness President Trump had an atmosphere in a place that was not going to let the people that have made government not work and control the shots. The fact that he was there to engender the efforts in the private sector to get busy on testing, therapeutics, and vaccine are going to make this a whole lot quicker in terms of getting this in the rearview mirror.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) unveiled her $3 trillion, 1,815-page phase four coronavirus bill on Tuesday. The bill contains many leftist provisions that Politico wrote is more of a “policy wishlist” for Democrats and progressives.

Braun contended that Pelosi and House Democrats frequently move to exploit crises.

“I think that was politically irresponsible. She did the same thing, delaying phase three from Sunday to a Wednesday back in late March,” Braun said. “They view any crisis like this, as an opportunity to roll out not only what’s related to a crisis but enhancements of what stuff they’ve been talking about for decades. It’s a nonstarter.”

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.