A Senate committee on March 15 rejected a measure from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that would have eliminated the position held by Dr. Anthony Fauci since 1984.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 17–5 to reject the measure, which was a proposed amendment to S. 3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act.

Sens. Paul, Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) voted yes; the rest of the Republicans, including ranking member Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joined Democrats in voting no.

Paul announced the measure before the meeting and urged colleagues to support it, arguing that Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, should be removed because he is among the "scientific elites who do not want their opinions questioned."