An attorney representing Dr Anthony Fauci was removed from a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill after repeatedly interrupting proceedings, prompting the panel's chairman, Senator Rand Paul, to have him ejected. The disruption occurred as Fauci himself repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, declining to answer questions on the origins of COVID-19 and related matters, an approach that drew sharp criticism from Republican senators present.

The confrontation began when attorney David Schertler, described by Paul as one of roughly half a dozen lawyers representing Fauci, attempted to speak on his client's behalf without being formally recognised by the chair. When Schertler continued after being told "you are not recognised", Paul ordered him removed from the hearing room, adding to an already tense session in which Fauci faced pointed questioning over gain-of-function research funding, Wuhan lab links and diary entries relating to the pandemic response.