Dr. Anthony Fauci, the 85-year-old former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been hailed as a "hero" by public health experts following a grueling Senate hearing on July 29. During the three-hour session before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination in response to every question. He faced scathing criticism from Republicans, particularly Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who chairs the committee and plans to push for contempt charges. The hearing came after Paul released over 1,000 pages of Fauci's pandemic-era diaries, in which Fauci described President Donald Trump as "out of control" and "an idiot."