A spokesman for a key House panel says the White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying next week at a hearing on the coronavirus outbreak.

House Appropriations Committee spokesman Evan Hollander says the panel sought Fauci as a witness for a subcommittee hearing on the government’s response to the pandemic, but was denied. The White House says Fauci is busy dealing with the pandemic and will appear before Congress later.

Fauci is the highly respected director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the top scientist on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force.