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Reporter's Notebook: Rand Paul's contempt vote crusade could be doomed despite Fauci pleading Fifth 111 times
By Chad Pergram
Published July 29, 2026
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., will schedule a committee vote next week to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after invoking the Fifth Amendment 111 times today.
The committee could vote to hold Fauci in contempt. But it doesn’t stop there.
Contempt of Congress must go before the entire Senate. It takes a simple majority to hold someone in contempt. But such a resolution must clear one filibuster, requiring 60 yeas.
WATCH: FAUCI ATTORNEY EJECTED FROM SENATE HEARING AFTER CHAOTIC EXCHANGE: 'YOU ARE NOT RECOGNIZED!'
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
So, it’s doubtful Fauci is held in contempt.
Even if the Senate broke the filibuster, the Senate must approve a separate resolution to make a criminal referral to Department of Justice.
That would face at least one filibuster, again entailing 60 affirmative votes.
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It is more common for the House to hold someone in contempt compared to the Senate. The Senate last successfully held someone in contempt in 1971.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/reporters-notebook-rand-pauls-contempt-vote-crusade-could-doomed-despite-fauci-pleading-fifth-111-times