US Senate committee votes to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt over Covid-19 testimony

A Republican-led US Senate committee has voted to hold Dr Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he refused to answer questions about his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The vote was approved by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, following a hearing last week in which Dr Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times. The referral was pushed by Republican chair Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has long been one of Fauci's most prominent critics.

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Dr Fauci, 85, retired in 2022 after leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for 38 years. He became the public face of the US pandemic response and a central target of anger over lockdowns, mask guidance, social distancing and vaccines. The row comes after a hearing focused on his role in the response to a virus that killed more than 1.1 million Americans.

Mr Paul argued that Dr Fauci had no valid Fifth Amendment claim because a 2025 pardon from former President Joe Biden removed the risk of prosecution over Covid-related conduct, while Dr Fauci said he had been summoned to support what he described as repeated public pledges to see him imprisoned. The committee vote is only one step in a process that could still face major political and legal obstacles. A contempt referral would normally need approval by the full Senate, where a 60-vote threshold would make Democratic support necessary, and that appears unlikely given the party's defence of Dr Fauci.

Mr Paul has suggested the Senate vote may not be required, saying he could send the referral directly to the Justice Department with a legal brief. Democrats on the panel criticised the move, with Senator Gary Peters calling it a rushed investigation and warning that it could affect future inquiries and constitutional protections. The case matters because it keeps alive one of the most politically charged disputes from the pandemic era.

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Dr Fauci was a leading scientific adviser during a period when public health guidance became deeply polarised in the United States. Supporters of the measures say they were based on the scientific evidence available at the time, while critics have continued to challenge the decisions and the officials who defended them. The contempt vote shows that the political fallout from Covid-19 remains active in Congress more than four years after the height of the crisis.

It also highlights the continuing clash between congressional oversight powers and individual constitutional protections. The Fifth Amendment issue is central to the dispute, as is the scope of the pardon issued in January 2025, which was intended to protect Dr Fauci from what Mr Biden described as unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions related to Covid or his role in the response. The committee's action suggests Republicans are still seeking a formal legal and political reckoning over the pandemic response, even as Democrats argue the process is being used to pursue a long-running partisan campaign.

What happens next will depend on whether the referral is taken to the full Senate, sent directly to the Justice Department, or left in procedural limbo. It is also unclear how prosecutors or Senate leaders would respond if the matter advances further. For now, the vote marks a new stage in a dispute that has combined public health, criminal exposure and partisan politics since the pandemic began.

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