Two Republican senators are raising doubts about a push to send former White House COVID adviser Anthony Fauci to the Justice Department, even as Sen. Rand Paul presses ahead with a criminal contempt referral.
Paul, R-Ky., said Tuesday that he believes the votes are there to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after the former health official repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during questioning.
Rather than wait for a full Senate vote, Paul is considering sending the referral directly to the Justice Department, a move that could avoid the 60-vote threshold typically needed to advance the matter.
Sen. Josh Hawley said his staff is already preparing a legal memo for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urging the department to prosecute Fauci.
“My team is working right now on a memo to Blanche explaining why we think that he can be prosecuted for contempt of Congress,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “He’s not entitled to immunity, taken the Fifth, when he already has a pardon. It’s one or the other. ”
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted Thursday to hold Fauci in contempt. Under the usual process, the resolution would next go before the full Senate.
Sen. James Lankford, however, warned that Paul’s proposed shortcut could create political consequences for Republicans later.
“It’s got to actually go through the full Senate,” Lankford said. “That’s the challenge.”
Under Paul’s plan, Vice President JD Vance, serving as president of the Senate, could certify the resolution and refer the case to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
🚨 BREAKING: DR. FAUCI HELD IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS by Rand Paul’s Committee, 8-5
PRISON!
Sen. Rand Paul just held the FINAL committee vote and it will now be referred to the DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 🔥
Time for Fauci to face accountability.
Democrats failed MANY TIMES during… pic.twitter.com/AliDkSmxUt
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 6, 2026
Lankford suggested Republicans should think carefully before embracing a procedure that Democrats could use against conservatives in a future administration.
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“The vice president would have to make a decision if he wants to try to change the structure of what has been done in the Senate, because then that would make them vulnerable three years from now to a future, maybe, Democrat Senate,” Lankford said.
Sen. Ashley Moody backed Paul’s effort, arguing that the dispute over Fauci’s Fifth Amendment claim should ultimately be settled by a court.
“I think Rand Paul feels very strongly that you can’t have him coming in and pleading the Fifth in this situation,” Moody said. “I think he also believes ultimately this will wind up in a court and that will be clarified by a court, and I think that’s probably necessary as we move forward.”
Fauci received a sweeping pardon from former President Joe Biden covering actions taken between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 19, 2025. That pardon has fueled questions over whether Fauci can still claim that answering congressional questions could expose him to criminal prosecution.
Sen. Mike Rounds expressed skepticism that Republicans have established a strong enough legal basis to hold Fauci in contempt.
“The first thing you have to do is identify what it is that you would be holding him in contempt for,” Rounds said. “I think he took the Fifth. And doing so, I think it makes it more difficult for anybody to actually suggest that.”
Rounds also urged lawmakers to remember the uncertainty surrounding the early stages of the COVID pandemic.
“Whether the advice was really good advice or if it was the best advice they had, it was a different time period,” Rounds said. “So I just hope we all remember that.”
The comments from Lankford and Rounds could complicate Paul’s effort as conservatives demand answers over Fauci’s pandemic-era decisions, his congressional testimony and the origins of COVID-19.
Paul has not indicated that he intends to back down, leaving JD Vance and the Justice Department facing a possible decision over whether Fauci’s pardon and Fifth Amendment claims place him beyond the reach of congressional accountability.
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