Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Crusade to “Fire Fauci” Hits a New Low

Last updated on May 14th, 2021 at 10:43 pm

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) used her Twitter to draw attention to the “Fire Fauci Act,” legislation she introduced that would reduce the salary of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases, to $0.

“No one elected Dr Fauci. He is the highest paid federal employee,” Greene, who has continued to downplay the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic and has made not wearing a mask to ward off the virus part of her political brand. 

“At his direction, shutdowns & masks are ruining our country, for what appears to be a man made virus that Fauci paid for with our money,” she added.

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Greene is wrong about the extent of Fauci’s authority: He can only recommend public health measures and has no power to force states to abide by mask mandates. Covid-19 was also not manufactured in a lab, despite her claims.

“A draft study associated with a group founded by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is giving new life to social media claims that the coronavirus was manufactured intentionally in a Chinese lab,” the Associated Press reported last year after conducting a fact check.

“The four authors list their affiliation as the Rule of Law Society, a group founded by Bannon that says its mission is ‘to expose corruption, obstruction, illegality, brutality, false imprisonment, excessive sentencing, harassment, and inhumanity pervasive in the political, legal, business and financial systems of China.’ It is not a scientific organization,” the outlet added, noting that the conspiracy theory continues to thrive.

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.