Senate Republicans took another step in their investigation into the federal government's Covid-19 response by voting to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during recent testimony.
According to Fox News, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the contempt resolution along party lines, accusing the former chief medical adviser to the president of refusing to answer lawmakers' questions about his role before and during the pandemic.
The vote followed Fauci's appearance before the committee last week, where he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times rather than respond to questions from senators.
Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., had warned after the Hearing that Fauci would face consequences if he declined to testify.
Under normal Senate procedure, a contempt resolution approved by committee would move to the full Senate for consideration.
Paul's resolution, however, allows the matter to bypass a floor vote and be referred directly to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Paul said he wants the Department of Justice to review the matter as quickly as possible. He also said questions remain about whether former President Joe Biden's pardon of Fauci affects the legal issues surrounding his refusal to answer questions.
"It's a good legal discussion, and we will make those legal points to DOJ in sending the referral over," Paul told Fox News Digital before the committee vote.
The contempt action marks the latest development in the years-long dispute between Paul and Fauci, which began during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Paul has repeatedly accused the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of supporting research that he argues may have contributed to a laboratory leak involving the coronavirus, allegations Fauci has denied.
Meanwhile, Senate investigators have obtained additional materials as part of their ongoing review.
Fox News Digital confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., provided Senate investigators with a copy of Fauci's pandemic-era cellphone.
The Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also previously received more than 1,000 pages from Fauci's personal diary.
It remains unclear whether Paul or Johnson have reviewed the phone's contents.
House Republicans are also continuing their own investigation. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has questioned whether Fauci's pardon affects his ability to invoke the Fifth Amendment and indicated his committee intends to seek additional testimony from the longtime public health official.