Newly released diary entries from Dr. Anthony Fauci suggest that the former White House COVID adviser became increasingly preoccupied with his growing celebrity status even as the coronavirus pandemic claimed tens of thousands of American lives.

The journals, released Sunday by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., chronicle Fauci's private thoughts during the early months of the pandemic, when he served as the nation's top infectious disease expert and a leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

In an April 7, 2020, diary entry, when more than 60,000 Americans were already dead from COVID-19, Fauci wrote, "Press still hot and heavy about me. Multiple stories per day directly or indirectly involving me."

Weeks later, on May 21, Fauci described his "national and international fame" as "explosive and really unimaginable," adding that it was "not hyperbole" to characterize his level of global recognition that way. By then, nearly 98,000 Americans had died from the virus.

The diary also shows Fauci receiving invitations tied to his newfound celebrity. In late June 2020, as daily U.S. COVID-19 cases climbed to a then-record 40,000, he wrote that he had been invited to appear on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Fauci also documented growing tension with President Donald Trump's White House, writing that extensive media coverage was turning him into "a star that outshines" the president.

He recalled Secret Service officers at White House security gates routinely recognizing his vehicle and waving him through without requesting identification.

Despite the attention, Fauci wrote that he had "no desire to conflict with, embarrass or show up the POTUS" and later decided to stop participating in profile interviews.

Paul, a longtime Fauci critic and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the diary entries days before Fauci is scheduled to testify before the committee under a subpoena issued by the Kentucky Republican.

Paul argues the journals depict a senior public health official overly focused on his public image and media profile during one of the nation's worst public health crises.

"Anthony Fauci will answer to the American people," Paul wrote in a June 28 post on X, accusing federal health officials of prioritizing self-promotion and media narratives during the early months of the pandemic.