Senate hearing on pandemic gets testy: ‘What a moron’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, angrily accused a senator Tuesday of making false accusations that are leading to threats against him. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has repeatedly said Fauci lies about the pandemic and in a hearing Tuesday also claimed that he tried to discredit scientists who disagreed with him. The feud overshadowed a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee designed to examine if policy changes are needed while the U.S. is battling the hugely contagious omicron variant.  Later in Tuesday’s hearing, Fauci was heard muttering “what a moron” after Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, accused him of hiding financial disclosure forms that have long been public.