Senator Josh Hawley has introduced legislation intended to prevent federal bureaucrats from accepting cash prizes, following his criticism of former US health official Dr Anthony Fauci at a Senate hearing. Hawley alleged that Fauci received more than $1 million during the COVID-19 pandemic through loopholes in rules that already restrict government employees from soliciting rewards, arguing that public officials should not profit in this way during a national crisis.

The proposed No Cash Prizes for Bureaucrats Act would tighten the relevant federal rules and ban such payments. The article frames the measure as a response to Hawley’s claims about Fauci’s earnings, although the excerpt does not provide Fauci’s response, details of the payments, or an assessment of whether any laws were broken.