Republican Senator Rand Paul has accused Dr Anthony Fauci of lobbying colleagues at the National Institutes of Health to nominate him for a $1 million prize while he was leading the United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made the allegation ahead of a forthcoming hearing at which Fauci is expected to appear, framing it as evidence that the former top health official pursued personal recognition and reward even as he oversaw the country's handling of the crisis.

Paul told Fox News Digital that Fauci, who formerly headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, used his heightened public profile during the pandemic to encourage NIH colleagues to put him forward for the lucrative award. The claim forms part of a broader set of questions Paul intends to raise at the upcoming hearing, adding to existing scrutiny of Fauci's conduct during the pandemic, including separate reports concerning his private views on COVID-19 lockdown measures.