A U.S. Senate committee has voted to hold former national health official Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer questions at a hearing examining his handling of the pandemic that began in 2019.
The vote, falling along party lines, would prompt the Justice Department to consider prosecuting Fauci for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena, though it is not yet clear whether that matter will be pursued.
During last week’s testimony Fauci invoked his constitutional right against self‑incrimination more than 100 times, contending that Senator Rand Paul was attempting to threaten him with imprisonment.
Paul has long accused Fauci of concealing the origins of COVID‑19 and of funding a Wuhan lab that some claim sparked the pandemic, but most scientists argue that exposure to an infected animal is a more likely source.
Former President Joe Biden granted Fauci a pre‑emptive pardon on his last day in office in 2025, shielding him from federal prosecution for actions taken between 2014 and 2025. Charges for events after that date, including contempt of Congress, could still be pursued.
Fauci could also face state or local charges that are not covered by the pardon.
“The chair directed Anthony Fauci to answer. He refused,” Senator Paul said prior to the vote, emphasizing that the committee was addressing his conduct during the hearing, not his past opinions or policies.
Paul added that the committee’s order should carry weight even against a federal‑pardoned witness, or else its mandate would be undermined.
Fauci continues to deny wrongdoing and accused Paul of harboring an “obvious obsession” with prosecuting him.
In response, Fauci said, “The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something—anywhere—that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars.’”
