Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will undergo intense scrutiny over his history of controversial and inflammatory comments at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday to become President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.

"No federally funded research means far fewer research breakthroughs. Far fewer research breakthroughs means far fewer new, effective treatments."

Joe Biden ended his presidency by pre-emptively pardoning political allies and family members who had yet to be charged with any crimes. One pardon stands out: that of Dr Anthony Fauci. Pardoning Fauci won’t make investigations into the origins of Covid-19 go away.

Plus: President Donald Trump again suggested abolishing FEMA. | Trump cancels Dr. Anthony Fauci's security detail. | It's all on The Excerpt.

With actions big and small, Trump has spent his first days in office pushing the levers of government – and his unique powers as commander in chief – to target his perceived political enemies both inside and outside the government.

The Central Intelligence Agency with a "low confidence" has changed its stance and concluded that it's likely the COVI-19 virus was leaked from a Chinese lab before it became a global pandemic five years ago.

Former NASCAR star Danica Patrick shared a news story about Anthony Fauci losing his security detail with a quote from President Trump, adding the caption "Damn right."

Dr. Fauci faced regular threats to his life and has received federal protection for years, but his government security detail was abruptly ended this week.

Dr. Fauci, one of the nation’s top health officials for decades, received death threats during the COVID-19 pandemic. He'll now hire his own security.

Trump revoked security from three national security officials — including his former secretary of state — and Dr. Anthony Fauci this week. When asked about his decision, he told reporters: “You can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government.”

The Trump administration has appointed Matthew Memoli, a veteran researcher who was critical of the U.S. response to the Covid pandemic, as acting head of the NIH.

President Donald Trump has terminated Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security detail that was being provided and paid for by the National Institutes of Health, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. It was pulled on Thursday night.