Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment in heated Senate COVID hearing

Anthony Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., and invoked his Fifth Amendment rights as Republican senators pressed him on the origins of COVID-19 and his pandemic decisions. The hearing, chaired by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in the 340 Dirksen Senate Office Building, quickly turned into a confrontation rather than a fact-finding session.

Fauci, who served under both the Trump and Biden administrations, declined to testify or answer questions during the Republican-led hearing. The clash revived years of arguments over how federal health officials handled the pandemic, but Fauci’s refusal meant the panel did not get sworn testimony on the issues Paul and other Republicans wanted to revisit.

The sharpest exchange came when Paul ordered one of Fauci’s attorneys out of the hearing room after the lawyer spoke up repeatedly. Capitol security personnel were called in to remove him. The incident, which followed a heated back-and-forth, shifted attention from COVID policy to the spectacle inside the committee room.

Committee materials had identified the session as “Testimony of Anthony Fauci” and listed the witness panel at 340 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Paul had formally called Fauci to testify after saying he uncovered emails that allegedly showed Fauci deleting official records, a claim that had fueled Republican scrutiny of the former White House health adviser’s conduct.

The hearing fit into a broader Republican effort to reopen questions about COVID-19 origins and Fauci’s role in shaping the federal response. A July 24, 2026 account described the session as a critical test of Fauci’s legal exposure, and the appearance on Tuesday made clear why: Fauci offered no answers, while Paul used the hearing to keep pressure on the man who became one of the most visible figures of the pandemic.