Durbin portrayed Fauci as a national treasure who has been mistreated by Republicans, a familiar routine from Democrats whenever one of their favored bureaucrats faces actual questions. The Democrat then accused Republicans of mistreating Fauci during the hearing, framing basic accountability as some sort of grave Senate offense. “Put simply, it was an embarrassment,” Durbin said, before accusing Republicans of chasing what he called “COVID conspiracy theories.” “And the American people deserve better than the pitiful display we saw in the Senate last Wednesday,” Durbin added. Fauci appeared under subpoena and invoked the Fifth Amendment to refuse answering questions,” Paul said in a statement.