Senators vote to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for pleading the Fifth during tense hearing - NBC News

Senate Republicans voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer lawmakers’ questions during a fiery hearing last week. Fauci, who has been a target of the right since he served as a top health official during the Covid pandemic, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment right during the hearing, explaining in his opening remarks that he believed Republicans would try to use his testimony to prosecute him. Now, Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee have pushed to do just that with the 8-5, party-line vote. “We are voting on whether a witness who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon can be ordered by this committee to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence,” committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in his opening statement at the meeting.