Rand Paul Announces Vote to Hold Fauci in Contempt After Hearing
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Wednesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci will face a vote next week that could lodge a contempt of Congress charge against him.
Fauci had been subpoenaed to appear Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to testify on issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after delivering an opening statement, Fauci refused to answer any questions, citing the Fifth Amendment.
“It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify,” Paul, who chairs the committee, said, according to Politico. He then scheduled a vote for Aug. 5 to declare Fauci in contempt of Congress.
“Let’s be clear today … what we’ve seen. I really did want to hear from Dr. Fauci. I wanted to hear perhaps an apology, perhaps some semblance of being sorry for what happened or that judgment errors were made. We didn’t hear any of that,” Paul said in a video posted to X.
“But he was subpoenaed here to testify, refused to answer questions even after being directed by the chair and being advised of the law requiring him to do so. He has cited a privilege that is unsupported, because of his blanket pardon and because he waived the privilege by testifying at the start. I’m going to give you one more opportunity to comply with the law. Limited to the period of your pardon, at any point between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 19, 2025, did you destroy any federal record or tell anybody else to?” Paul asked.
.@SenRandPaul announces vote next week to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt. pic.twitter.com/TMQ8t7WqFs
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 29, 2026
“Under the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer, based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution,” Fauci replied.
“Given that you have an unlimited presidential pardon, what is your specific objection that you are making?” he asked, only to have Fauci refuse to answer, again citing the Fifth Amendment.
“My question was limited to the period of your pardon only. I find your objection unsupported and direct you to answer the question,” Paul asked, with Fauci again refusing to answer, citing the Fifth Amendment.
“Because you refuse to answer, citing a privilege that is unsupported because of your pardon, and after being denied to do so, this committee has scheduled a vote next week on a resolution certifying your contempt,” Paul said.
In an opening statement, Fauci said Paul was out to get him.
He claimed Paul has an “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me” and publishing Fauci’s journal, according to NBC News.
“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 — anything — that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words — quote — ‘behind bars,’” Fauci said, adding, “Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion.”
Paul was not alone in being irked by Fauci’s refusal to answer questions.
“Americans are asking for accountability, Dr. Fauci, and your silence is very telling,” Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said, according to USA Today.
After asking questions about what day it was, which Fauci refused to answer, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri fumed, saying, “Nothing says honesty like taking the Fifth, huh, doc?”
“We have entire generations of Americans who, rightfully so, do not trust our institutions to keep them safe because of you,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said. “This has destroyed decades of progress and lifetimes of work because you wanted to fuel your own ego and be the center of attention.”
In closing, Paul said Fauci supported research that led to “the largest man-made plague in human history.”
“Today will be the capstone to Anthony Fauci’s 40 years of abuse of power at NIH,” Paul said, referring to the National Institutes of Health. “At the end, we must imagine that Fauci believes he got away with it.”
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