White House blocks Fauci from testifying at 'counter-productive' House hearing, Senate appearance still on

Anthony Fauci.
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The White House confirmed Friday it is blocking Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease who has taken on a prominent role in the Trump administration's coronavirus response, from testifying before the Democrat-led House Appropriations Committee about the pandemic next week.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said "it is counterproductive" to have someone like Fauci, who is heavily involved in the government's efforts to re-open the American economy and expedite a coronavirus vaccine, step away from those tasks and testify.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.