Fauci refuses Senate appearance after invoking Fifth Amendment more than 100 times in COVID probe | 15 Aug 2026 | Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday declined a request to voluntarily appear before a second Senate panel, opening another front in Republicans’ investigations into the former public health official’s [mis]handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has been conducting a parallel investigation into Fauci and the federal government’s response to COVID-19, including the [lack of] safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. The refusal comes after Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines last week to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during the July hearing. Committee chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., has sought to send the contempt referral directly to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, bypassing a full Senate vote.