GOP Sens. Rand PaulRandal (Rand) Howard PaulFauci says lies, threats are ‘noise’ Fauci overwhelmed by calls after journal published mistake over beagle experiments McConnell looks for way out of debt ceiling box MORE (Ky.) and Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzGermany calls on Congress not to sanction Nord Stream 2 pipeline: report Fauci says lies, threats are ‘noise’ Biden administration resists tougher Russia sanctions in Congress MORE (Texas) on Monday fired back at chief White House medical adviser Anthony FauciAnthony FauciAustralia reviewing reopening plans after reporting first omicron cases Biden to provide update Monday on US response to omicron variant Canada reports North America’s first cases of omicron COVID-19 variant MORE after he gave an in-depth interview in which he called their criticisms “dangerous.”

While sitting down with “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan, Fauci suggested that lawmakers like Paul and Cruz were targeting him to distract from scandals associated with the Trump administration, such as the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

“So it’s easy to criticize, but they’re really criticizing science because I represent science,” Fauci said in the interview. “That’s dangerous. To me, that’s more dangerous than the slings and the arrows that get thrown at me. I’m not going to be around here forever, but science is going to be here forever. And if you damage science, you are doing something very detrimental to society long after I leave. And that’s what I worry about.”

On Sunday, Paul, who has repeatedly called for Fauci to resign or be fired, retweeted a video of the interview and wrote, “The absolute hubris of someone claiming THEY represent science. It’s astounding and alarming that a public health bureaucrat would even think to claim such a thing, especially one who has worked so hard to ignore the science of natural immunity.”

The absolute hubris of someone claiming THEY represent science. It’s astounding and alarming that a public health bureaucrat would even think to claim such a thing, especially one who has worked so hard to ignore the science of natural immunity. https://t.co/rcDezphVRR

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 28, 2021

Cruz also took issue with Fauci saying he represents science, tweeting, “Fauci is an unelected technocrat who has distorted science and facts in order to exercise authoritarian control over millions of Americans. He lives in a liberal world where his smug ‘I REPRESENT science’ attitude is praised.”

Fauci is an unelected technocrat who has distorted science and facts in order to exercise authoritarian control over millions of Americans.

He lives in a liberal world where his smug “I REPRESENT science” attitude is praised.

Here are the facts:

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 28, 2021

The Texas senator further criticized Fauci for supposedly lying about the National Institutes of Health funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and suggested that Fauci should be prosecuted by the Justice Department.

Throughout the pandemic, Fauci has become a target for right-wing media and Republican lawmakers who have decried his handling of COVID-19. Last year, allies of former President TrumpDonald TrumpFormer defense secretary Esper sues Pentagon in memoir dispute Biden celebrates start of Hanukkah Fauci says lies, threats are ‘noise’ MORE accused the leading infectious diseases expert of seeking to undermine the administration.

Trump frequently blasted Fauci, who at times gave advice that was counter to what Trump was publicly saying about the coronavirus. Shortly before Election Day in 2020, Trump said he was considering firing Fauci. Since President BidenJoe BidenBiden to provide update Monday on US response to omicron variant Restless progressives eye 2024 Emhoff lights first candle in National Menorah-lighting ceremony MORE‘s inauguration, Fauci has spoken out about the “chilling” pressure that scientists felt under the Trump administration and the lack of “any direction.”

Fauci similarly responded to GOP criticisms earlier this year when speaking to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, following the release of thousands of his emails. Critics of Fauci took issue with emails that appeared to show his consideration of a possible “lab leak” origin of COVID-19, a theory he had denounced in public. Fauci described the Republican backlash to his emails as “very much an attack on science.