Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said his committee will vote the week of August 3 on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. The announcement came after Fauci refused to answer more than 100 questions during a Senate hearing on July 29, 2026. Axios

Contempt of Congress is a charge lawmakers can bring against someone who refuses to cooperate with a congressional investigation. Paul chairs the Senate committee that held the hearing. Fauci declined to answer questions on topics including the origins of COVID-19, pointing to his Fifth Amendment right. The Fifth Amendment is part of the Constitution that protects people from being forced to give testimony that could be used against them in a criminal case. Axios

Paul said Fauci's refusal was "unsupported" because former President Joe Biden pardoned Fauci before leaving office. A pardon is a presidential action that forgives someone for potential crimes, removing the threat of criminal prosecution. Paul's argument is that if Fauci cannot be prosecuted, he has no reason to fear self-incrimination and therefore cannot use the Fifth Amendment as a shield.

The hearing grew tense early on. Paul removed David Schertler, an attorney for Fauci, from the room after Schertler tried to speak without being recognized by the chair. PBS NewsHour Fauci accused Paul of running an "unhinged" campaign to see him imprisoned. Reuters

The conflict between Paul and Fauci goes back years. The two have clashed over the government's pandemic response and whether U.S.-funded research helped cause COVID-19. Paul renewed his referral of Fauci to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution in July 2025, a step he first took the year before. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

The July 29 hearing focused in part on diary entries Fauci wrote about the origins of COVID-19, according to Reuters and PBS NewsHour. Paul's questions aimed to connect those entries to broader allegations that Fauci misled Congress or the public about U.S.-supported research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Fauci's decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment was a change from his past congressional appearances. In earlier hearings, Fauci answered questions directly and often argued with Paul but did not decline to respond on constitutional grounds. The pardon from Biden was designed to protect Fauci from prosecution under a future administration. Paul's argument that the pardon undercuts Fauci's Fifth Amendment claim raises a legal question the committee has not resolved: whether a witness who cannot be prosecuted can still refuse to answer questions under the Fifth.

Paul told reporters the committee would vote the following week on the contempt referral, according to The New York Times and CNN. If the committee approves a contempt citation, it would go to the full Senate for a vote. The New York Times CNN

NPR first reported Paul's plan to move forward with the contempt proceeding on July 30. The story, reported by Ari Daniel and Leila Fadel for Morning Edition, aired the morning after the hearing. NPR

The broader context here is three legal and political tools colliding: a presidential pardon, a Fifth Amendment claim, and a congressional contempt process. The pardon was meant to remove Fauci's criminal exposure. Fauci's Fifth Amendment claim rests on the idea that his testimony could still be used against him in situations the pardon may not cover. Paul's contempt push tests whether Congress can force testimony from someone who has a pardon but still says their answers could incriminate them.

The next steps are clear in process but uncertain in result. A committee vote needs majority support. A full Senate vote would require Senate leaders to schedule it. If both the Senate and the House approved a contempt citation, the case would go to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who would decide whether to prosecute. The Justice Department has broad discretion in whether to pursue such cases, and past contempt referrals involving government officials have had mixed results.