An unguarded moment showed Dr. Anthony Fauci releasing his frustrations after a challenging day on Capitol Hill. He was heard venting to his wife, Christine Grady, about being on the receiving end of some loud accusations.
The couple, who have shared 41 years of marriage, were seen power-walking through their upscale Wesley Heights neighborhood in Washington, D.C., where their home is valued at $2.4 million.
Earlier in the day, Fauci found himself in the hot seat during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic. The immunologist stood his ground by citing his Fifth Amendment rights over 100 times, declining to answer any questions regarding the crisis.
Clad in a Georgetown University “IronMed 5K” T-shirt, Fauci was juggling his phone and clearly burdened by the events of the day, mentioning how he was subjected to verbal attacks. His expression of frustration included an expletive as he took his evening walk following a tough exchange with Republican senators.
A native of Brooklyn, Fauci was summoned to testify after being subpoenaed by Senator Rand Paul. Paul has accused him of concealing the true origins of COVID-19 and providing misleading information to the public about the virus.
After the four-hour-long hearing, Paul (R-Ky.) announced that his committee would begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Fauci over his refusal to answer even the most basic questions from Republicans.
Fauci, 85, served as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for 38 years before his December 2022 retirement.
He retired as the nation’s highest-paid government employee, earning $481,000 in his last year on the job, and with a reported net-worth of more than $11 million between him and his wife.
In 2023, Fauci joined the faculty of Georgetown University as a distinguished professor at the Infectious Diseases Division in its School of Medicine.
His wife, who served as the chief bioethicist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was reportedly fired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shortly after the start of President Trump’s second term.
In March, Grady joined her husband at Georgetown University, where she serves as the senior advisor on bioethics and neuroethics and a professor of neuroscience.