Republican Sen. Rand Paul proposed an amendment that would eliminate the director position at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). The amendment, announced on Mar. 14, continues Paul’s feud with Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID’s current director, concerning the ethics of Fauci’s COVID-19 policies.
Paul’s proposal seeks to replace the sole director with three separate directors, each overseeing their own separate institutes: a National Institute of Allergy, a National Institute of Infectious Disease and a National Institute of Immunologic Diseases. Each of these positions would go to an individual appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a five-year term. Paul believes spreading administration across three separate bodies will increase accountability for the federal government’s disease response.
“We’ve learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed dictator-in-chief. No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans,” Paul said, in a statement announcing the proposal.
He also said that the amendment will “ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again.”
Since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paul has criticized Fauci, stating that the lockdowns and mask mandates imposed under his jurisdiction are too harsh. Fauci has maintained that Paul’s opposition is a personally motivated attack that seeks to score political points and raise funds for Paul’s re-election campaign.
The amendment’s proposal comes one month after Paul joined nine other Republican senators in a push to defund vaccine mandates. “We have consistently opposed President Biden’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which would force millions of Americans to choose between an unwanted medical procedure and being able to provide for their families,” read the letter that announced the senators’ opposition. “For legal, constitutional, and policy reasons, we remain strongly opposed to the mandates and will continue to work to end their imposition on Americans.”
NIAID has not responded to Paul’s proposal as of March 21st.
