WASHINGTON – A Republican-led Senate committee voted Thursday, Aug. 6, to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal official who led the government’s coronavirus response in 2020, in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions during a hearing last week.
The panel advanced the resolution on an 8-5 vote, with two senators also voting no by proxy, to rebuke the infectious-disease expert for asserting his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination during congressional testimony.
The contempt vote marks the start of what could become a long, drawn-out legal battle for one of the nation’s most recognizable pandemic-era figures. Potentially hefty fines, and even the prospect of jail time, are at stake.
Democrats accused their GOP colleagues of an “immensely historic step” and warned that the dramatic vote would erode the legislative branch’s oversight powers. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, the ranking member on the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, argued that the move creates a damaging precedent. He warned that future witnesses will use this as a justification to resist legitimate congressional oversight, arguing that appearing before Congress now carries the risk of punitive action.
Over several contentious hours on July 29, Fauci was repeatedly pressured by GOP lawmakers to discuss a number of both professionally and personally sensitive issues, ranging from his actions as the country’s foremost pandemic expert to his own revealing diary entries. Fauci’s stonewalling, during which he pleaded the Fifth more than 100 times, enraged Republicans, most notably Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky. Paul, who serves as chairman of the committee, accused him of openly defying Congress.
Fauci defended his stance in his opening statement, telling lawmakers that the sole reason he was called before the committee was to elicit a statement that could vindicate Paul’s public pledges to see him “behind bars.” He characterized the proceedings as an “unhinged obsession” and insisted that he respected the legislative branch’s authority, pointing to his “decadeslong record of cooperating with Congress.”
The legal landscape is complicated by the fact that President Joe Biden issued a pardon to Fauci before leaving office, covering any actions taken as a federal public health official between 2014 and 2025. This prompted Republicans to claim Fauci is immune from self-incrimination concerns, a point disputed by Fauci’s legal team and Democrats. Sen. Paul noted that the question of whether one can incriminate themselves after receiving a pardon is a matter for the courts to decide.
Democrats warned that Republicans, still incensed by COVID-19-era lockdowns and vaccine politics, were attempting to lay a trap. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, suggested the goal was to wait for Fauci to make a misstatement that could then be used by a “weaponized Department of Justice” to file criminal charges not covered by the presidential pardon.
As the Senate prepares for its August recess, it remains unclear if the full chamber will vote on the contempt resolution. However, Sen. Paul confirmed he has the option to send the criminal contempt referral directly to the Justice Department, a step he took immediately on Thursday despite Democratic outrage. “I’ve made the decision that I don’t want to waste time over waiting a month and a half,” he told reporters.
Republicans indicated their investigation into the former top doctor is far from over. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, confirmed that Fauci has already been invited back for a closed-door transcribed interview. “Last week’s hearing just began the accountability,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot more accountability that’s required.”
“Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion.”
Paul has suggested at points that Fauci, his longtime political foe, should face prison time.
Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for.
You can reach him by email at zschermele@.com.
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