Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, criticised Dr Anthony Fauci after Fauci declined to answer questions at a Senate hearing, invoking the Fifth Amendment. In a Fox News interview, Moreno called Fauci a Democratic “hero” and argued that his pandemic response was motivated by control rather than public health, reflecting continuing political disputes over COVID-19 policies.

The article centres on Moreno’s appearance on Fox News’s *Hannity* on Thursday evening, where he repeated his criticism of the former top US infectious-disease official. Moreno alleged that Fauci’s handling of the pandemic restricted Americans’ freedoms; the provided text does not include Fauci’s response or details of the specific Senate questions he declined to answer.