Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, is slated to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on May 12, after the Trump administration blocked him from testifying to a House panel next week.
The White House had said it would be counterproductive to take Dr. Fauci away from the rigors of his job to testify before the Democrat-led House Appropriations Committee, which had sought his testimony at a subcommittee hearing on May 6 on the COVID-19 response.
The Senate health panel is chaired by retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican.
House Democrats on Saturday said the administration was playing politics with the testimony of Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“The COVID-19 pandemic should not and cannot become a partisan issue – there are too many lives at risk,” said Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, New York Democrat, and health subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Democrat.
