Rand Paul says Bill Gates held Q clearance from 2014 to 2021

Sen. Rand Paul said on Wednesday that Bill Gates held a Department of Energy Q security clearance for seven years, introducing a department letter into the record during a Senate hearing involving Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“I would like to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a letter from the Department of Energy that confirms, during Anthony Fauci’s tenure, that Bill Gates was given Q security clearance from 2014 to 2021,” Paul said. “Without objection, it will be entered into the record.”

The July 29 hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee was convened to take testimony from Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 until 2022. Paul, the committee chairman, has spent years investigating COVID-19’s origins, federal funding linked to coronavirus research and whether officials accurately described gain-of-function work.

Paul’s remark quickly drew attention on X, where users circulated a clip and questioned why a philanthropist would receive such a high-level authorization.

A Q clearance is a Department of Energy access authorization comparable in investigative requirements to a Top Secret clearance. It can make a person eligible to receive classified nuclear-related or national-security information. However, holding a clearance does not establish which documents, programs or briefings an individual accessed.

Paul did not explain during the exchange why Gates received the clearance, what government work required it, or whether it was connected to public health, biodefense, nuclear technology or another initiative.