Fauci replied by calling Paul’s remarks during the hearing “inflammatory” and even “slanderous”:

You know, I don’t any take great pleasure, Ari, in clashing with the senator. I have a great deal of respect for the institution of the Senate of the United States. But he was completely out of line. He totally distorted reality. And he made some inflammatory and I believe slanderous remarks about lying under oath, which is completely nonsense. I mean, and some of the things he says are so distorted and out of tune with reality, I had to call him on that. I didn’t enjoy it, but I had to do that because he was completely out of line. Totally inappropriate.