The US Senate is set to vote on Thursday, August 6th, 2026, on whether to hold former chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. Fauci, who advised both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden during the Covid-19 pandemic, invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions during a high-profile Senate committee hearing focused on the origins of Covid-19.

The hearing was initiated by Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has long investigated Fauci and was accused by Fauci of having an “unhinged obsession” with him. Ahead of the hearing, Paul released what he described as Fauci’s “diary,” containing contemporaneous notes taken by Fauci during his public service. These notes included disparaging descriptions of Trump, such as “rambling,” “crazy,” “desperate,” “bumbling,” “incompetent,” and “a true embarrassment.”

Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reported that Robert F. Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services provided a copy of Fauci’s phone to the Republican-led Senate panel. Kennedy authored a conspiratorial book attacking Fauci in 2021, which sold over a million copies, aided by endorsements from non-scientists including Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.

Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan warned that the contempt vote could deter other scientific experts from public service. Gavin Yamey, director of the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health at Duke University, criticized the focus on Fauci, stating it allows Republicans to avoid responsibility for the US pandemic response under President Trump and suggested the effort aims to energize the Republican base ahead of the midterms.

Fauci’s refusal to testify and the subsequent contempt vote mark a significant moment in ongoing political disputes over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

Sources