A Senate committee voted on August 6 to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and sent the matter to the Justice Department, escalating a dispute that began when the retired infectious disease official declined to answer questions at a hearing the previous week.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the resolution by 8 to 5 along party lines. Chairman Rand Paul of Kentucky told reporters the referral would go to the Justice Department and the attorney general's office the same day, skipping the floor vote that normally follows a committee's action. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that the department had received the document and was reviewing it.
