Fact check: Did Donald Trump actually award Anthony Fauci a presidential commendation?
WASHINGTON, DC: Prior to Dr Anthony Fauci's testimony before Congress about his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, an explosive claim arose - that former President Donald Trump awarded Fauci a presidential commendation on his final day in office in January 2021.
The honor for Fauci's work on the vaccine development initiative Operation Warp Speed was listed in an archived White House press release at the time. However, the implications recently became a political flashpoint, as per Snopes.
The presidential commendation controversy
Ahead of Fauci's recent testimony before Congress about the Covid-19 pandemic response, Trump suggested in an interview that he would seek to prosecute the renowned immunologist for allegedly lying under oath.
Trump also claimed that Fauci, who formerly headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and served on the White House coronavirus task force under Trump, was not a significant figure in his administration.
In response to Trump's dismissive comments, reports circulated online that on his final day as president in January 2021, Trump awarded Fauci a presidential commendation for his work on Operation Warp Speed, the federal initiative to rapidly develop Covid-19 vaccines.
An archived White House press release from that day listed Fauci among 52 individuals receiving such honors.
When asked about this commendation in a 2023 interview, Trump expressed ignorance, stating, "I don't know who gave him the commendation I really don't know who gave him the commendation. Someone probably handed him a commendation."
Former White House officials refute Donald Trump's ignorance
At the time, two former Trump administration officials refuted Trump's claim that the commendation could have been awarded without his approval, CNN reported.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump's former White House communications director, stated that such a commendation "would require presidential sign-off. They go through staff secretary for approval and then the president would need to approve."
Stephanie Grisham, who served as Trump's White House press secretary and communications director, concurred, adding, "In my experience, nothing like that would ever go out without his knowing. Especially if an announcement was released."
Anthony Fauci's testimony about response to Covid-19 pandemic
During a recent Congressional hearing investigating his response to the Covid-19 pandemic and exploring theories about the virus's origins, Fauci faced intense grilling from Republican lawmakers, according to ABC News.
Fauci, who had previously stated he had "nothing to hide," appeared voluntarily before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. This three-hour testimony marked Fauci's first public appearance since leaving the federal government at the end of 2022 after five decades of service.
Fauci vehemently denied GOP allegations that he interfered with research into the pandemic's origins, including claims that he attempted to dissuade scientists from considering the possibility of a lab leak.
"The accusation being circulated that I influenced the scientists to change their minds by bribing them with millions of dollars in grant money is absolutely false, and simply preposterous," he asserted.
He went on to state, "The second issue is a false accusation that I tried to cover up the possibility that the virus originated from a lab. In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite," before reading an email in which he backed scientists to disclose their findings to authorities.
Additionally, Fauci rejected the notion that funding from the National Institutes of Health contributed to research that ultimately led to the creation of COVID-19, as some Republicans have suggested.
He maintained that the viruses researched through funding provided by the agency were "phylogenetically so different, they could not possibly be the precursor of SARS-CoV-2."
