Senate committee votes to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8–5 along party lines Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.

The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment during his congressional appearance last week.

"There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify," warned Committee Chair Senator Rand Paul at the time. Paul has long sought to punish Fauci for his role in overseeing America's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fauci testified before Congress countless times over the course of his 38-year career atop the health agency. He advised seven U.S. presidents over that time and oversaw research on a range of issues including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, influenza, Zika, and finally, the coronavirus.

Paul charged Fauci with lying to Congress during a July 2023 hearing on Covid. Paul's claim was never proven, and the issue was eventually wiped away via a pardon to Fauci issued by former President Joe Biden.

Last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer warned Fauci that the pardon would not cover his latest congressional hearing. He then posted hundreds of pages from Fauci's pandemic-era diary to his website, summarizing the unredacted collection with a conspiratorial slant and a pink pen, which Fauci said was "aimed at embarrassing and intimidating" him.

What Comes Next

Exactly what comes next for Fauci is not clear, even to the Republicans trying to charge him.

"There is not a lot of precedent for a lot of this, but it isn't law so there isn't any exact procedure that it has to follow," Paul told CNN on Tuesday. "It's a referral, it's a recommendation."

Thursday's decision will likely be passed along to Vice President JD Vance, who as the de facto president of the Senate will need to sign off on the atypical request. It will then be passed to the Justice Department, which will determine on its own accord whether to bring formal charges against Fauci. But legal experts have already warned that the charges are unlikely to succeed in court.

If the DOJ moves in that direction, it will likely boil down to a long, tumultuous legal battle.

This story has been updated.

Read more about Fauci's hearing: Fauci Pleads the Fifth and Kills Republicans' Big Covid Hearing

Trump Denies Report of Clash with Hegseth Over Munitions

President Donald Trump is crashing out about a report that he confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the U.S. military's depleted munitions stockpile.

Trump took to Truth Social less than an hour into Thursday to hit back at The Washington Post for reporting that tensions between Hegseth and the president had "boiled over" on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting at Camp David last week.

"The U.S. has massive amounts of 'munitions,' especially of certain types," Trump wrote. "Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed. Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country's history."

"The 'leakers' of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!" Trump wrote. Notably, Trump didn't deny unloading on Hegseth.

This isn't the first time the Trump administration has challenged reports that the country's weapons stockpile is low, and still managed to threaten the leakers with jail time. If the story is false, then why would it be treasonous to tell it?

The shortages of long-range guided missiles and air-defense interceptors caused Trump to pull back from launching any massive strikes.