Rand Paul is charging full speed ahead trying to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, but a couple of his fellow Republicans apparently missed the memo and are now throwing speed bumps all over the highway.
As Conservative Brief reported, the Kentucky senator believes he has sufficient votes after Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during questioning. Paul is even considering skipping the traditional full Senate vote, which needs 60 senators on board, and instead sending the referral straight to the Justice Department. Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley told Fox News Digital that his team is already putting together a legal memo for acting AG Todd Blanche arguing that Fauci cannot hide behind the Fifth Amendment when he already received a pardon. As Hawley put it, you get one or the other, not both.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee already voted to hold Fauci in contempt last Thursday. Normally the resolution would head to the full chamber next. But Paul apparently looked at that process and thought, "Why not take a shortcut?" His plan would have Vice President JD Vance, in his role as Senate president, certify the resolution and punt it over to the U.S. attorney in Washington.
Enter the party poopers. Senator James Lankford warned that this creative workaround could bite Republicans later. He essentially told his colleagues to imagine Democrats pulling the exact same move against conservatives in three years. "The vice president would have to decide if he wants to change the structure," Lankford cautioned, noting it could leave Republicans vulnerable down the road. Fair point, but also the least fun thing anyone has ever said at a political rally.
Then Senator Mike Rounds chimed in with even more cold water, questioning whether Republicans have built a strong enough legal foundation. Fauci pleaded the Fifth over 100 times, and Rounds suggested that actually makes prosecution harder, not easier. He also reminded everyone that the early pandemic was a confusing mess for all involved. "Whether the advice was really good or if it was the best they had, it was a different time period," Rounds said, sounding suspiciously reasonable.
Not everyone is pumping the brakes, though. Senator Ashley Moody backed Paul's push, arguing that a court should ultimately sort out whether Fauci can invoke the Fifth after receiving a blanket pardon from Joe Biden. That pardon covered actions between January 1, 2014 and January 19, 2025, which is quite the generous window.
So where does this leave things? Paul has shown zero signs of backing down. JD Vance and the Justice Department may soon face a decision about whether a pardoned man can still refuse to answer questions by claiming he might incriminate himself. It is the kind of legal pretzel that would make a constitutional law professor weep with joy and everyone else reach for the remote.
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