SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL: Next week, we’re gonna have a vote on the vaccine mandate prohibiting that regulation from going into effect. I think it has a decent chance of passing the Senate. I don’t think shutting down the government over this issue is going to get an outcome.

BILL HEMMER: Just to put a fine point, you’re saying you can avert a shutdown or not, sir?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL: Yeah. We’re not going to shut the government down. That makes no sense for anyone. Almost no one on either side thinks that’s a good idea.

BUCK: Welcome back to the Clay and Buck show. There are people who are a little bit, well, not surprised at Mitch McConnell, but I guess maybe a little frustrated. It feels like he does not sense the urgency of this moment. The thing about vaccine mandates is that once they’re implemented, right — once the shots have gone in the arm, so to speak — that’s that.

CLAY: (sigh)

BUCK: So the timing —

CLAY: Sorry, I was just reading. I’m so fired up about Dr. Fauci. What a liar he is. I’m sorry. In our commercial break, I was just reading, we invited Dr. Fauci on this show, and we told him, “Hey, we’ll be honest. We just want to ask questions,” and it turns out Fauci has rejected not only us. He’s turned down every Fox News invite since July.

So this guy… The way that he responded by saying talk about January 6th when he was questioned about his lies in front of congressional testimony, this guy is such a ridiculous partisan hack. If he were truly interested in trying to communicate with the largest possible audience, why wouldn’t you go on the biggest news network in America?

BUCK: If he is science, not even Mr. Science, right?

CLAY: Yes.

BUCK: If he is science, why would he be scared of little old Clay and little old Buck asking a few questions?

CLAY: That’s right.

BUCK: What’s the big deal, man? If we’re just going to be shock, shock radio hosts, which we’re not, but if we were going to be rude to him and he had real answers, then people would hear that, too. Why be scared? I used to go on CNN when I was younger, and I’d throw down with people over there. They hated my guts. I didn’t care. I made my case. And why is Fauci such a coward, basically?

Why can’t he go and ever do — not even hostile media. Just media that’s not, “Ohhhh, what’s it like to be a saint? What’s it like to be saving millions of lives and be the smartest scientist in the world?” The guy is like 84 years old. Do we really think that he’s the only person that has any insights on what to do about covid? Look at the results!

CLAY: It’s 100% right. But to me that is a flagrant example of his far left-wing political bent, that he’s supposed to be talking to all Americans, but he’s not even an elected official and he won’t go on Fox News? He certainly wouldn’t come on here. He’s got the biggest radio show in America inviting him. You’ve got the biggest news network in America inviting him on. He doesn’t want to talk to those audiences? Such a fraud. Such a liar. The fact that he still has a job disgusts me.