A Senate committee voted on Thursday to hold Anthony Fauci, the former Covid-19 czar, in contempt of Congress. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the resolution in an 8-to-7 vote that followed party lines. The decision followed Dr. Fauci’s refusal to answer questions during a committee hearing the previous week, where he cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The dispute centers on Dr. Fauci’s testimony regarding his role during the pandemic. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the committee chair, stated that Dr. Fauci should be held in contempt for his silence. Dr. Fauci has said he invoked the Fifth Amendment because he believed Sen. Paul intended to provoke a statement that could lead to perjury charges. While Dr. Fauci received a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden covering his actions from 2014 through the end of the Biden presidency, that pardon does not cover potential perjury committed during recent testimony.
Following the vote, Sen. Paul announced his intention to hand-deliver the resolution to Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. This move is intended to bypass a vote by the full Senate, where a 60-vote threshold would be required to overcome a filibuster. Democratic members of the committee, including Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), opposed the move, arguing that bypassing the full Senate was unprecedented and could discourage future witnesses from cooperating with congressional investigations.
The scale of this action is reflected in the narrow 8-to-7 committee vote and the potential for a criminal referral involving the DOJ and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. If the DOJ chooses to act on Sen. Paul’s referral, it would involve federal prosecutors and the judicial system in a dispute over the limits of the Fifth Amendment in a congressional setting. For the public, this highlights the ongoing legal and political examination of pandemic-era decision-making. Democratic senators warned that this process could change the day-to-day operations of congressional oversight, as future witnesses might be less likely to appear if they fear party-line contempt votes without the full chamber's approval.
The knock-on effects could influence future relations between the legislative and executive branches, particularly concerning the use of preemptive pardons and the exercise of constitutional rights during testimony. It is currently unclear if the full Senate, led by Majority Leader John Thune, will choose to take up the resolution for a formal vote. Sen. Paul indicated he intended to deliver the resolution to the DOJ on Thursday to avoid a lengthy wait for a Senate floor schedule. The Justice Department has not yet indicated how it will respond to a referral that bypasses a full chamber vote.