US Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt

What the report says

A US Senate committee has voted to hold former top US health official Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer questions at a hearing on the government response to Covid-19. According to BBC World News, the committee’s decision means the case will be referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution over an alleged failure to comply with a congressional subpoena.

The vote split along party lines. Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has long criticized Fauci over questions about the pandemic’s origins and federal funding for research in Wuhan, said the committee was focused on Fauci’s refusal to answer lawmakers rather than his broader record. Fauci, in turn, has denied wrongdoing and has argued that Paul was trying to trap him into statements that could be used against him.

BBC reported that Fauci invoked his constitutional protection against self-incrimination repeatedly during last week’s hearing. It remains unclear whether the Justice Department will take up the referral. The case also comes after former President Joe Biden issued Fauci a pre-emptive pardon in 2025 for federal actions taken between 2014 and 2025, though that would not necessarily cover later conduct or possible state charges.

The development matters because it keeps one of the most prominent figures from the pandemic era at the center of a new legal and political fight over congressional oversight, immunity, and accountability.