Fauci draws GOP ire but Kennedy may be making him a problem for Trump

The public lashing Dr. Anthony Fauci faced on Capitol Hill Monday was illustrative of his enduring unpopularity with the GOP’s conservative base. Yet even as Republicans seek to capitalize on that dislike of the infectious disease expert, former President Donald Trump’s past elevation of Fauci is a potential vulnerability as he fights off an insurgent independent campaign from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Increasingly, Kennedy’s third-party White House bid is gaining traction by attacking Trump’s Covid-19 policies. He has, for example, accused Trump of “inventing lockdowns” and has questioned the safety of the Covid vaccine his administration helped develop.