{"id":8743,"date":"2026-08-06T23:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T23:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743"},"modified":"2026-08-06T23:08:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T23:08:06","slug":"what-happens-now-that-a-senate-panel-voted-to-hold-fauci-in-contempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743","title":{"rendered":"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\n Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday officially recommended that the Justice Department charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with contempt of Congress, advancing an audacious effort by GOP critics to prosecute the well-known scientist over his refusal to testify about the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.\n <\/p>

Read more Why US water systems are vulnerable to foreign cyberattacks<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Paul said his office would hand-deliver the referral to federal authorities shortly after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee narrowly voted along party lines to hold Fauci in contempt, arguing that he could not rely on his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid answering lawmakers\u2019 questions.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Justice Department later Thursday afternoon confirmed that it had received the document. \u201cWe are reviewing it, and will work with the Senate accordingly,\u201d it said in a statement.\n <\/p>\n

\n The move sets up a high-stakes legal and political test for the Trump administration, which now must decide whether to bring charges against Fauci despite deep uncertainty over whether such a case could succeed in court.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to go to the House, doesn\u2019t have to be signed by the president, and really doesn\u2019t have to go before the Senate,\u201d Paul said Thursday of his referral. The majority had voted \u201cto refer this, so that will be accomplished today,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The 8-7 committee vote came a week after Fauci declined to answer lawmakers\u2019 questions during a fiery hearing before the Senate committee, instead invoking his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times.\n <\/p>\n

\n Fauci\u2019s refusals infuriated Republicans on the panel, who thenargued that his decision opened the door to federal contempt charges \u2014 a crime that, if convicted, can carry with it a sentence of up to a year in prison.\n <\/p>\n

\n Paul is seeking to speed through the process, bypassing a full Senate vote on contempt, in a break with longstanding precedent that some legal experts warned could undercut the government\u2019s ability to bring charges against Fauci.\n <\/p>\n

\n The move opens the committee to a number of options to proceed.\n <\/p>\n

\n According to the resolution the committee passed, Vice President JD Vance, in his constitutional role as president of the Senate, would now need to sign off on circumventing the rules before the Justice Department can decide whether to prosecute.\n <\/p>\n

\n At the same time, Paul has saidhe believes he can transmit his recommendation directly to Justice officials, even as he left the door open to a full Senate vote at some point in the future.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is some precedent for doing it that way, and it still may be done that way,\u201d he said of the potential for a vote on the Senate floor, which would require some Democrats to join Republicans to hit the 60-vote threshold needed for passage.\n <\/p>\n

\n Legal experts cautioned there\u2019s little guarantee that the contempt charges will succeed, saying they will likely instead kick off a lengthy court battle over the limits of Fauci\u2019s Fifth Amendment rights.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n
\n
\"Fauci<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nFauci attends a US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC in July.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Nathan Howard\/Reuters<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Democrats on the committee sought repeatedly to delay the contempt vote on Thursday, raising concerns about Paul\u2019s plan to take his referral directly to the Justice Department and the precedent that it could set.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMembers of this committee should move to table this resolution until we can be assured by the chairman that he will not take actions that weaken the Senate\u2019s and this committee\u2019s ability to conduct oversight in the future,\u201d said Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee.\n <\/p>\n

\n Republicans on the panel voted down the Democrats\u2019 efforts to derail the vote.\n <\/p>\n

\n After the vote, Fauci\u2019s lawyer David Schertler decried it as a \u201ccrude political stunt intended to punish Dr. Fauci for exercising his constitutional rights.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cFor years, Senator Paul has proclaimed to anyone who would listen that Dr. Fauci should be prosecuted and put in prison. Dr. Fauci has committed no crime \u2013 and Senator Paul knows it,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>

Read more What eggs, jalape\u00f1os, chickens and chameleons have in common this summer: salmonella<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Paul and other Republicans have contended thatFauci could not invoke the Fifth because he\u2019d already received a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden covering Covid-era actions that the committee is investigating. Republicans have long accused Fauci of lying and misrepresenting data during the Covid response, though they\u2019ve yet to present clear evidence of such an alleged cover-up.\n <\/p>\n

\n During Thursday\u2019s vote, Paul said Congress needs to enact legislation to ensure a better pandemic response in the future, but \u201ccannot determine what additional reforms are necessary until it fully understands what remains unanswered\u201d \u2013 a process that Fauci, by refusing to address the panel, was obstructing, he argued.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHolding a witness in contempt is a serious thing, and it should be rare,\u201d Paul added. \u201cThe contempt power exists for precisely this circumstance.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But GOP lawmakers also openly acknowledged in the lead-up to last week\u2019s hearing that they hoped to get Fauci to perjure himself in his testimony, allowing them to bring new charges not covered by the pardon.Those motivations threaten to undercut their argument that Fauci should now be held in contempt for refusing to engage with them.\n <\/p>\n

\n The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Asked by reporters later Thursday whether Fauci should be prosecuted, President Donald Trump was noncommittal.\n <\/p>\n

\n The contempt vote nevertheless represents the most aggressive step in a long-running feud between Fauci and Paul.\n <\/p>\n

\n In particular, Paul has clashed with Fauci repeatedly over the origins of the coronavirus, which the GOP lawmaker has asserted was the result of a lab leak tied to viral research in China funded by the National Institutes of Health. Fauci, who has theorized that Covid-19 likely emerged naturally, has strenuously denied that the NIH ever funded studies related to the coronavirus strain that spurred the pandemic.\n <\/p>\n

\n In the last year, Paul also enlisted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to aid his investigation, teaming up with the former antivaccine activist who has waged his own yearslong battle with Fauci.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ahead of Thursday\u2019s hearing, HHS provided a copy of Fauci\u2019s government iPhone to Sen. Ron Johnson, who sits on the committee. Fauci used the phone during his time as director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.\n <\/p>\n

\n The move came on the heels of a Kennedy\u2019s disclosure of Fauci\u2019s Covid-era diary, which he handed to Paul after discovering it on his department\u2019s servers.\n <\/p>\n

\n The diary, which Paul published ahead of last week\u2019s hearing, included Fauci\u2019s unvarnished and at times unflattering descriptions of colleagues and internal debates, as well as his fascination with his own rising celebrity. But it provided little new evidence to bolster Republicans\u2019 claims against him.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump and other prominent Republicans have also targeted Fauci since his 2022 retirement from government service, despite the president\u2019s heavy reliance on him in his first term during the early stages of the pandemic \u2014 and subsequent decision just before leaving office to give Fauci one of the presidential commendations awarded for helping develop the Covid-19 vaccine.\n <\/p>\n

\n In recent weeks, Trump has sought to distance himself from Fauci, insisting that he only briefly relied on his advice during the 2020 crisis. But so far, he\u2019s stopped short of joining the open calls for Fauci\u2019s prosecution.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe was pardoned by Biden, and I respect that,\u201d Trump said last week in response to questions about whether he would seek to invalidate Fauci\u2019s pardon. \u201cI know how powerful it is. It\u2019s a very powerful \u2012 they say it\u2019s literally the most powerful thing a president has.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more Rep. Max Miller faces growing calls to resign from Senate Republicans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, advancing an audacious effort by Republicans to prosecute the well-known scientist over his role in the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, advancing an audacious effort by Republicans to prosecute the well-known scientist over his role in the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-06T23:08:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e777e264851bf1771b4ff8338844828e.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"headline\":\"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-06T23:08:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743\"},\"wordCount\":1308,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743\",\"name\":\"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt - Relocation Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-06T23:08:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8743#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt - Relocation Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt - Relocation Times","og_description":"A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, advancing an audacious effort by Republicans to prosecute the well-known scientist over his role in the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743","og_site_name":"Relocation Times","article_published_time":"2026-08-06T23:08:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e777e264851bf1771b4ff8338844828e.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"headline":"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt","datePublished":"2026-08-06T23:08:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743"},"wordCount":1308,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743","name":"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt - Relocation Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-06T23:08:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fd0c6506ed2b61f8ff2ed8c31c40e5e3.jpg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8743#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What happens now that a Senate panel voted to hold Fauci in contempt"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/","name":"Relocation Times","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationtimess.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}