Rand Paul said that even though Dr. Anthony Fauci is retiring, it does not disqualify him from being investigated or called to testify before Congress in any probe related to COVID-19.

The Kentucky GOP senator brought up the prospect after new Twitter CEO Elon Musk called for the prosecution of Fauci in a tweet that poked fun at people declaring their pronouns.

'My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,' Musk wrote early Sunday morning.

Fauci announced in August that he would be stepping down from his post in December 'to pursue the next chapter' of his career.

He served as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and assumed the role of Chief Medical Advisor to the President when Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

Fauci will receive the highest-ever government pension with a predicted payout of $414,000 in his first year of retirement.

Republicans have often pounced on Fauci and his messaging surrounding COVID-19 – in particular, Senator Paul has taken several public swipes at the NIAID chief and accused him of contributing to the creation of the virus.

Lawmakers claim that they will call Fauci for his testimony as part of investigations into the origins of COVID-19. The feat will need to be focused in the House for now as Republicans failed to take a majority in the Senate in the 2022 midterms.

'Fauci's resignation should not prevent a full-throated investigation into the origins of the pandemic,' Paul tweeted on Sunday. 'He must be required to testify under oath regarding any discussions he participated in concerning the Wuhan lab leak.'

'His policies destroyed lives,' the Kentucky senator added.

Fauci was a frequent punching-bag for Republicans because of his extreme, left-leaning stances related to COVID-19. He frequently pushed compulsory mask-wearing and vaccinations for all Americans - even when many felt the throes of the pandemic were behind.

Under Fauci's advisement, the Biden White House imposed vaccine mandates, including on all federal government workers and Military service members. Thousands lost their jobs or were furloughed because they refused to be forced to take a vaccine that was still under FDA review.

Fauci insists his goal, even after leaving his current post, is to 'help repair the widespread partisan polarization that has divided the nation and politicized science'.

In May 2021, Fauci denied that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported so-called 'gain-of-function research' at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Paul claims there is now evidence to show that Fauci was involved, or at least aware, of the facility developing the virus.

The two have publicly clashed several times when Fauci has appeared before Senate committees.

Paul, an ophthalmologist before being elected to Congress, is a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Foreign Relations Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. He is also GOP ranking member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.