5 highlights from Anthony Fauci's tense Senate grilling: 'Total and complete disgrace'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, July 29, 2026

1. Audience erupts in applause as Fauci's attorney ejected

Shortly after Fauci's opening statement, during which he accused Paul of being "unhinged" and trying to see him "behind bars," Paul ejected his attorney, David Schertler, after repeated interruptions.

"You will respect these proceedings. You were told not to sit at the table. You insist on sitting at the table, and we told you [that] you would not be recognized," Paul told Schertler, a top criminal defense lawyer who specializes in white-collar criminal defense.

WATCH: @RandPaul ejects Fauci's attorney from Senate hearing after the lawyer repeatedly refused to stop speaking without being recognized. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify or answer questions from the committee.

Paul warned the attorney multiple times… pic.twitter.com/HaSMi1uX8x

— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) July 29, 2026

"You are not invited here for testimony, sir. You are being disruptive. Would you behave this way in a courtroom? No, because the judge would put you in jail. I can't do that today. But I can have you escorted from the premises," Paul continued.

When Schertler persisted in attempting to speak, the audience applauded when Paul directed security to remove him from the room.

"Let the record state that Dr. Fauci will still have the advice of the other half a dozen attorneys that he brought along today," Paul said as Schertler was leaving.

Schertler told reporters that Fauci "has a valid Fifth Amendment privilege and he has the right to assert it and that's what I was trying to tell the committee," according to the New York Post. He later said his removal was "outrageous and demonstrates the completely biased and baseless nature of this proceeding."