Sen. Rand Paul had Anthony Fauci’s attorney removed from a Senate hearing Wednesday after the lawyer repeatedly tried to speak without being recognized.
“Another word, and you’re gone,” Paul warned.
The Kentucky Republican was chairing a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing focused on Fauci’s handling of COVID-19, federal funding for risky virus research and his previous testimony to Congress.
Fauci had already invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer Paul’s questions. His attorney then attempted to intervene from beside him.
Paul wasn’t having it.
“If he speaks again, he will be removed from the room,” the chairman said. “This testimony is from Anthony Fauci. This is not a game with his lawyers.”
Paul stressed that Fauci’s lawyers could advise him privately but could not take over the hearing.
“He’s got a half-dozen here,” Paul said. “They are all allowed to talk to him, but the attorneys are not recognized.”
Paul said Fauci’s attorney had been told to sit in the row behind the witness but instead positioned himself beside Fauci and continued interjecting.
“This is the way Anthony Fauci wants to be remembered, for a lawyer not listening to the rules,” Paul said. “You are not recognized.”
When the attorney spoke again, Paul summoned security.
“Please remove him from the room,” he ordered.
Officers escorted the attorney out as applause broke out inside the hearing room. The Associated Press confirmed that a Fauci representative was removed after repeatedly trying to address the committee without recognition.
Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said he wanted to hear what Fauci’s counsel had to say.
Paul responded with a parting jab.
“Let the record state that Dr. Fauci will still have the advice of the other half-a-dozen attorneys he brought along today,” he said.
Watch the clip below:
Dr. Fauci's lawyer was tossed from the Congressional hearing by Sen. Rand Paul. pic.twitter.com/aMkvL3JifU
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) July 29, 2026
Paul later defended the removal, arguing that Fauci could not refuse to testify while allowing his lawyer to answer or make the case for him.
“In no courtroom in America can you have your witness plead the Fifth Amendment and then your attorney gets to testify,” Paul said.
The chairman said a letter from Fauci’s attorney explaining his decision to invoke the Fifth amounted to an attempt to defend the witness without submitting to lawmakers’ questions.
“That’s one thing you give up when you take the Fifth Amendment,” Paul argued. “You say, ‘I’m not going to testify. I’m not going to give you any information.’ You don’t then get to put your lawyer forward to justify it.”
Watch the clip below:
Rand Paul explains why he booted Dr. Fauci's lawyer from the Congressional hearing pic.twitter.com/1OEiUxp3MJ
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) July 29, 2026
