A Republican-led U.S. Senate committee voted to hold former infectious-disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt after he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right during testimony about the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee action does not itself impose a criminal penalty; further Senate action and a possible referral would be needed for the matter to advance. Republicans said they were seeking answers about pandemic decisions, while Democrats described the proceeding as political and said it produced no new evidence of wrongdoing by Fauci.