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Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he has been totally "honest" during his time as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and spoke on his previous disputes with Republicans, especially Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

"The most important thing weve got to do is stick with data, stick with science, be transparent and be honest, which I have been very much so literally for the entire 50 years that Ive been at the NIH and the 38 years that I directed the institute," Fauci said on CNN Tuesday.

Fauci was responding to questions from host Anderson Cooper on whether the new Republican-led House would be as "contentious" with him as Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has been at past congressional hearings.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he has been totally "transparent" and "honest" during his time as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). ((Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP))

"That was an unfortunate interchange with Senator Paul, but that was Senator Paul being Senator Paul," Fauci said of his previous disputes with the senator.

Paul and Fauci have had a number of highly publicized clashes both in congressional hearings and online, with both sides accusing the other of dishonesty.

In one incident during 2021, Fauci blasted Paul during a debate about gain-of-function research and argued that "if anyone is lying here," it was Paul.

Fauci also responded to revelations from the Biden administrations Energy Department that the lab leak theory was a likely origin of COVID, a view that was recently echoed by FBI Director Christopher Wray.

But Fauci played both sides of the COVID debate, saying that it is "very tough to tell" one way or the other about the origins of the disease.

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Fauci played both sides of the COVID debate, saying that it is "very tough to tell" one way or the other about the origins of the disease. (Photo by GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images | Photographer: Greg Nash/The Hill/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"It just still remains unknown at this particular point. There are two theories, as were all familiar with now; one is a lab leak theory, the other is it was a natural occurrence from an animal spillover."

Some members of Congress have questioned Faucis position on the origins of COVID, especially in the early days of the pandemic. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan argued that the fundamental question behind COVID was answering why Fauci was "so consumed with making sure the narrative wasn't about the lab" during a Fox News appearance Sunday.

Fauci concluded that the world may never know the true origins of COVID in his interview with Cooper.

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"If it turns out to be a lab leak, you want to be very much more stringent in the controls of the experiments that you allow to be done. So, it is relevant to understand. Whether or not we ever will know, Anderson, Im not sure, but it certainly is important to know."

Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History.

Story tips can be sent to jeffrey.clark@fox.com.

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