A woman seated behind Senator Rand Paul during Wednesday’s Republican-led questioning of Anthony Fauci unexpectedly became a talking point online, as viewers focused on her appearance rather than the hearing itself.
‘Not to change the subject. But the woman sitting behind Rand Paul is gorgeous,’ one X user wrote – sharing a still that quickly went viral.
‘LOL… I thought the same. So perfect, I thought she was a robot. Never smiled…’ another wrote.
‘Right?! She is absolutely STUNNING!!’ said someone else.
‘I might have noticed that….numerous times in fact,’ a fourth joked.
‘She’s probably a supermodel that got lost,’ added another.
‘Oh my God, who the HELL is she?’ a sixth quipped, as many speculated about the person’s true identity.
The post that first drew attention to her quickly gained traction, climbing to nearly 300,000 views.
A woman seated behind Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, sparked a wave of social media reaction Wednesday as users commented on her looks
“I might have noticed that… numerous times in fact,” one person joked online
The Daily Mail has contacted Senator Paul’s office seeking clarification on the woman’s identity.
Paul, who chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, was among several conservatives who pressed Fauci for hours about the federal government’s yearslong response to the pandemic.
Fauci, the former chief White House medical adviser, invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times. The constitutional protection is commonly used to avoid providing testimony that could be self-incriminating in legal proceedings.
Fauci has not been charged with, convicted of, or proven to have committed any crimes.
One X user wrote: ‘Once the 5th was pleaded it was just partisan grandstanding theater sh*t-show and a waste of time.’
Paul has alleged that Fauci misled Congress and signed off on funding for experiments overseas that may have helped spread the virus.
Fauci has repeatedly insisted otherwise, saying that his National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases did not fund such research in China. Paul has maintained that he did.
Fauci received a pardon for any prospective federal crimes from then-President Joe Biden at the end of the latter’s term – two years after retiring.
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times while fielding questions Wednesday
Dozens of users found themselves similarly infatuated by the cameo
Speaking with members of the media after Wednesday’s Capitol Hill hearing, Paul said he still planned to hold a vote to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress next week.
‘That’s the vote that will happen in committee next week, it will be on contempt of Congress,’ Paul, 63, told reporters.
‘We believe with his liability, his immunity from criminal liability, that he didn’t need to hide behind the Fifth Amendment and that maybe the Fifth Amendment doesn’t attach when you have a pardon in place,’ he continued, adding that the ability to plead the Fifth again, ‘will be a legal question.’
‘But the question on contempt will be voted on and then there’s a question of whether or not the Department of Justice will take it up,’ said Paul.
Fauci, 85, said of Paul during the hearing: ‘The sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to prompt me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, “behind bars.”‘
