Senate committee set to vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress
Former health official Anthony Fauci faces a potential contempt-of-Congress vote after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights during a Senate hearing. The hearing, led by Senator Rand Paul, centers on ongoing disputes regarding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why it matters
This highlights the intensifying political scrutiny of pandemic-era public health officials and the limits of congressional oversight powers.
Anthony Fauci, the 85-year-old retired health official who helped lead the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, faces a contempt-of-Congress vote Thursday.
The punitive measure under consideration by the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee comes after he refused to answer lawmakers' questions in a hearing last week , citing his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.
In an opening statement, Fauci said that the committee chairman, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has "an unhinged obsession" with him and suggested the hearing was convened in an attempt to trick Fauci into lying under oath.
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