Republicans revive hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin claims in Fauci hearing

While Republican leadership attempts to pin millions of COVID-19 deaths on Dr. Anthony Fauci, some party members are focusing on his dismissal of their alternative "cures" for the virus.

Navarro's Hydroxychloroquine Claims

Peter Navarro, currently serving as a senior counselor to President Donald Trump, complained to C-Span on Wednesday that Fauci had interfered with his hydroxychloroquine efforts at the height of the pandemic.

"I had a million doses of hydroxychloroquine in warehouses … that I was trying to distribute to hospitals, and he got the FDA to stop me from doing that," Navarro said. "Thousands of people could be here in this country right now alive if I had been able to distribute that, take that to the bank, that's what the science says."

However, extensive clinical trials have repeatedly debunked the notion that hydroxychloroquine—an antimalarial drug predominantly used to treat lupus—could have been an effective treatment for COVID-19. The FDA revoked the drug's emergency use authorization during Trump's first term after emerging data made clear that it did not treat or prevent COVID-19, and instead had the potential to cause dangerous heart palpitations, liver or kidney damage, and serious gastrointestinal upset.

Johnson's Ivermectin Defense

Six years later, Republicans are apparently still choosing to ignore the science.

During a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, where Fauci pleaded the Fifth, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson insisted that ivermectin—a drug used to treat heartworm in livestock, touted during the pandemic as another miracle cure—"worked."

"When it comes to ivermectin … it works," Johnson said, proceeding to wave a stack of papers while claiming that there were dozens of studies proving the efficacy of ivermectin against the coronavirus.

To this day, the FDA has only approved some ivermectin tablets at specific doses for human use, though their application is limited to treating parasitic worms. The FDA page on the matter still warns against the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, asserting that "currently available clinical trial data do not demonstrate that ivermectin is effective" against the virus.

Furthermore, the FDA notes that taking ivermectin—or any drug dosed for an animal—can be dangerous, and that the agency has received "multiple reports" of hospitalizations after people have attempted to self-treat with the drug.

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Epstein Survivors Deliver Files to Capitol Hill

A group of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse are going door-to-door on Capitol Hill to deliver the government's files to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The survivors gathered for a press conference at the National Mall on Wednesday to launch the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Bookmobile, which will carry bound copies of all 3.5 million files to communities across the country throughout the midterm elections.

As part of their launch, the survivors delivered printed copies directly to lawmakers' offices, according to Miles Taylor, a former Trump official turned activist now involved with the bookmobile.

The survivors took copies of the files to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is set to vote on advancing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation on Thursday.

Speaking at the press conference, the survivors urged against confirming Blanche, who only recently met with survivors after months of dodging victims and their demands for the Department of Justice to continue investigating. That meeting did not go well.

"A vote for Todd Blanche is a vote against justice," Elizabeth Stein, an Epstein survivor and anti–human trafficking educator, said.