Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said Thursday that his pointed remarks toward Dr. Anthony Fauci during a contentious Senate hearing were restrained compared to how he truly felt, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that he was “trying to be nice” when he confronted the former top health official.
Moreno appeared on Hannity following the high-profile Senate hearing in which Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times while facing questions from Republican lawmakers about his role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hannity began the interview by expressing support for Moreno’s approach during the hearing, telling the senator he believed his comments to Fauci were justified.
“I think your comments were warranted, Senator,” Hannity said. “God bless you for saying them.”
During the hearing, Moreno sharply criticized Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), over policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At one point, the Ohio senator demanded, “Who the f*ck do you think you were doing that!?” as he questioned Fauci about pandemic-related measures.
Moreno also told Fauci that the government’s handling of the pandemic had motivated him to enter politics, saying the former health official played a key role in his decision to run for office.
Reflecting on the exchange during his interview with Hannity, Moreno argued that his language in the hearing did not fully capture his frustration with Fauci’s actions.
“Well, look, that was me trying to be nice, Sean,” Moreno said.
The senator went on to accuse Fauci of causing lasting harm to the country through decisions made during the pandemic.
“The reality is this guy damaged a lot of things in this country. He set us back decades. He crushed small businesses, destroyed, and sometimes killed seniors that died alone. He closed nursing homes, closed hospitals, had people fired, shot. If you didn’t take the vaccine because you didn’t want to, you said, ‘Hey, look, I don’t want to put something in my body that I don’t believe in.’ They were fired. They were terminated from the military,” Moreno said.
The hearing featured multiple heated exchanges between Moreno and Fauci, with the senator using profanity on more than one occasion as he pressed the former public health official.
In another tense moment, Moreno questioned whether Fauci believed he was “in deep sh*t,” suggesting that could explain why the former NIAID director appeared before the committee with several attorneys.
The question came after one of Fauci’s attorneys, David Schertler, had been removed from the hearing room.
Moreno highlighted Schertler’s legal background while explaining why he believed the attorney’s presence was noteworthy.
“He’s a high-profile criminal attorney,” Moreno said. “He’s represented some really great people like Senator Bob Menendez. Maybe that’s somebody who my Democrat colleagues might remember took gold bars as bribes from the Egyptians, and there is an article here in the Washington Free Beacon that talks about why you would hire a guy like him.”
Moreno then delivered another pointed question to Fauci.
“The comment is, if you are in deep sht, that’s who you call. Do you feel like you are in deep sht?” he asked.
The exchanges underscored the combative tone of the Senate hearing, where Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right while facing intense questioning from Republican lawmakers over his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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