The White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the public face of the country’s coronavirus response, from testifying before a Congressional committee, according to a Democratic aide who spoke with The Daily Beast. As reported in the Washington Post, the House Appropriations Committee requested the doctor’s testimony at a hearing next week related to its investigation of the federal government’s coronavirus response. The White House denied approval and claimed that Fauci’s appearance during a pandemic would be “counterproductive.” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has attracted attention for his addresses to the public as the lead scientist on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which sometimes has put him at odds with President Trump’s pseudoscientific ramblings.