Rand Paul, a Republican Senator from Kentucky, said that he will eliminate Dr Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, calling him a “petty tyrant” and “dictator-in-chief”. The two US officials have often made their feud public.

Paul said that American “lives were held captive by petty tyrants and power-hungry bureaucrats​” and went on to speak about Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s top advisor on matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read: Senator Rand Paul accuses Anthony Fauci of lying, again

“We have learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson, in particular, is that no one person should be deemed ​’​dictator in chief”, Paul said in an op-ed for Fox News on Monday. 

He added, “No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans​.”

While accusing Fauci of “dictating science”, Senator Paul said that he will introduce an amendment to divide Fauci’s power into three separate new institutes to ensure “that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again”, according to reports from the New York Post.

Paul said that the US President would appoint the directors of these three separate institutes for five-year terms.

Dr Anthony Fauci, who is considered to be America’s top infectious disease expert, has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984.

Also Read: Watch | Anthony Fauci again in altercation with Rand Paul during a Congressional hearing

Fauci and Paul have previously engaged in furious confrontations on various COVID-19 related matters, including its origin, vaccines, lockdowns and masks. The two officials have also faced-off in public settings.

Paul previously accused Fauci of lying to the US Congress when he said that the NIAID had never funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China. To this, the top government epidemiologist said, “If anybody is lying here, senator, it is you.”