Former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted to lawmakers Tuesday there was likely no scientific data behind social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Republican Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, Chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, released a statement Wednesday morning outlining key details from Fauci’s Tuesday testimony including his admission that social distancing guidelines “sort of just appeared” during the COVID-pandemic. (RELATED: Fauci ‘Does Not Recall’ Key COVID-19 Pandemic Information, House Subcommittee Chairman Says)

✔️Dr. Fauci claimed that the “6 feet apart” social distancing recommendation promoted by federal health officials was likely not based on any data.

“It just sort of appeared.”

— Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (@COVIDSelect) January 10, 2024

“After two days of testimony and 14 hours of questioning, many things became evident. During his interview today, Dr. Fauci claimed that the policies and mandates he promoted may unfortunately increase vaccine hesitancy for years to come,” Wenstrup stated.

“He testified that the lab leak hypothesis — which was often suppressed — was, in fact, not a conspiracy theory. Further, the social distancing recommendations forced on Americans ‘sort of just appeared’ and were likely not based on scientific data,” he added. (RELATED: ‘Nobody Knows Where It Came From’: Former FDA Head Says ‘Arbitrary’ Six-Foot Social Distancing Highlights CDC’s ‘Lack Of Rigor’)

Fauci admitted to lawmakers COVID-19 vaccine mandates could create renewed vaccine hesitancy and that he advised universities to impose vaccine mandates.

He denied visiting the CIA during the pandemic and attempting to influence its investigation of COVID-19 origins, allegations first brought forward by the subcommittee.

The top COVID-19 advisor to former President Trump and President Biden, Fauci conceded the lab leak theory of COVID-19 origins is not a conspiracy theory years after he influenced a scientific paper discrediting the lab leak hypothesis at the beginning of the pandemic.

Dr. Kristian Anderson, one of the paper’s authors, appeared to privately admit to a colleague the purpose of the paper was to discredit the lab leak theory.

Fauci testified Tuesday in front of the subcommittee after he testified Monday and failed to recall COVID-19 information over 100 times, Wenstrup said Monday night. He refused to concede that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded dangerous gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, the location where the pandemic was first discovered.

The subcommittee is planning on holding a public hearing with Fauci later this year.