Sen. Ron Johnson says new Fauci vaccine texts raise serious questions about what the public was told on pregnancy and mRNA shots.
Newly released Fauci vaccine texts are fueling a fresh clash on Capitol Hill, with Sen. Ron Johnson saying the messages show Anthony Fauci privately raised concerns about COVID-19 shots while presenting a different message to the public. Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican who leads the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said the texts are only the beginning of what he expects to uncover from Fauci’s old government phone.
Johnson told Fox News Digital that the first batch of messages is evidence that the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director said one thing behind closed doors and something else in public. He called the material “just the tip of the iceberg” and said the issue goes to public safety and informed consent. In his view, the matter matters because pregnant women were urged to take what he described as an experimental gene therapy during a period when Fauci was privately worried about possible miscarriage risk.
The text exchange Johnson highlighted took place in January 2021 and involved Fauci, then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who later became surgeon general in the Biden administration. In the exchange, Fauci wrote that after asking around, “another issue” had come up that others should know about. He said that because many people experienced significant cytokine storm and fever after a second dose, the reaction “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
Johnson said he had never heard a federal health official make that kind of statement about the injections. He also argued that the warning should be viewed alongside public messaging and later research. He pointed to a 2021 New England Journal of Medicine study by Dr. Tom Shimabukuro and said the paper reported 104 spontaneous abortions among 827 pregnancies exposed to mRNA vaccines. Johnson said most of the vaccinations in that set occurred in the third trimester, while 127 were in the first and second trimesters, where he said the miscarriages were counted.
“Sen. Ron Johnson says new Fauci vaccine texts raise serious questions about what the public was told on pregnancy and mRNA shots.”
From Johnson’s perspective, the way the figures were presented mattered as much as the underlying numbers. He argued that the timing of the vaccinations changed the meaning of the data and said the public was misled. He went further, saying the officials involved were not simply mistaken but were using the statistics in a way that obscured the risk he believes the data suggested for women early in pregnancy.
The senator’s review of Fauci’s government iPhone is still in its early stages. Johnson said he is being careful about what he releases and does not want to expose private information or dig into Fauci’s personal life. What he says he is looking for are more examples of private concerns that did not match public statements. The phone was turned over to Senate investigators from the Department of Health and Human Services as part of a broader inquiry into Fauci’s conduct during the pandemic response.
The investigation also sits within a wider political fight over Fauci’s handling of the COVID-19 era. Johnson and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky obtained the phone as part of their review of Fauci’s record at NIAID, while Paul moved to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment. Johnson said his staff saw the texts and believed the public should hear about them right away because of the implications for consent and safety.
Fauci’s legal team did not immediately respond through the law firm representing him. With more messages still to come, Johnson’s probe is poised to keep pressure on one of the central figures of the pandemic years. For Americans, the fight is about more than old texts: it goes to whether federal health leaders told the public the full truth when trust mattered most.
Frequently asked questions
What did Ron Johnson say about the Fauci texts?
Johnson said the texts show Fauci privately worried about vaccine effects while publicly sending a different message. He called the revelation just the tip of the iceberg.
What did Fauci write in the January 2021 exchange?
Fauci said that fever and cytokine storm after a second dose could theoretically be associated with miscarriage in the first trimester. The exchange included Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Vivek Murthy.
What study did Johnson point to?
Johnson cited a 2021 New England Journal of Medicine study by Dr. Tom Shimabukoro. He said it reported 104 spontaneous abortions among 827 pregnancies exposed to mRNA vaccines.
What happens next in Johnson’s review?
Johnson said the investigation is still early and that more messages may be released later. He said he wants to focus on public safety and informed consent.
We value your privacy 🍪We use cookies for essential features and, if you allow it, to send you a notification whenever we publish a new story. See our Privacy Policy.
📨
Never Miss a Story
Get the headlines that matter delivered straight to your inbox.
📱 On iPhone: tap the Share icon, choose “Add to Home Screen”, then open TheTrueDefender from your Home Screen and tap 🔔 to turn on notifications. (Apple only allows notifications for saved web apps.)
🔔
Never miss a breaking storyGet free alerts the moment big US news breaks.
1Tap the ••• menu at the bottom of the screen, then tap Share(in Safari, just tap Share in the bottom bar directly)2Scroll down the menu and tap Add to Home Screen3Tap Add in the top-right corner4Open TheTrueDefender from your Home Screen, then tap 🔔 Subscribe and choose Allow
📱 Add TheTrueDefender to your home screen for one-tap access.
