Anthony Fauci is heading back to Capitol Hill this week, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is putting the spotlight on the former White House chief medical adviser before he even takes his seat.

Ahead of Wednesday's Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Paul released thousands of pages from Fauci's personal diary entries covering 2020 through 2022. The journals offer a glimpse into Fauci's thoughts as he became one of the central figures in the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One recurring theme is Fauci's awareness of how quickly his public profile was growing.

In a March 22, 2020, diary entry, Fauci wrote about the intense media attention he was receiving while trying to explain the difference between President Donald Trump's optimism about potential COVID-19 treatments and what the available science actually showed.

"Press is going wild with me. Front page in Washington Post yesterday and Op Ed by Maureen Dowd in NY Times today about me and my relationship with the POTUS. Profile by Peter Nicholas on me in The Atlantic. I am trying in several articles and on TV to clarify that the POTUS is talking about hope for therapies although there are no good data, while I must stick to the science and so fundamentally we are approaching this from different, but not conflicting standpoints," Fauci wrote.

By late May, Fauci acknowledged that his newfound fame had reached a level he never expected.

In a May 21, 2020, entry, he reflected on another front-page story about him in The Washington Post.

"Big front page article about me appeared in the Washington Post. Very flattering. The situation with my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable. It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable person in the world," Fauci wrote.

The diary entries are being released as Fauci prepares to answer questions from senators about the government's handling of the pandemic.

Since leaving public service, Fauci has also spoken about the personal toll that came with becoming the public face of the nation's pandemic response.

During a 2024 House hearing, Fauci became emotional while describing the threats directed at him and his family.

"There have been everything from harassments by emails, texts, letters of myself, my wife, my three daughters," Fauci told Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.). "There have been credible death threats, leading to the arrests of two individuals — and 'credible death threats' means someone who clearly was on their way to kill me, and it's required my having Protective Services essentially all the time."

Fauci is scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, where lawmakers are expected to question him about his role during the federal response to COVID-19.