Hello readers. Welcome back to On Politics. Zach Schermele here, USA TODAY's congressional correspondent. It's Wednesday, and I just ran into OpenAI CEO Sam Altman getting into the elevator in the Senate basement. Just another day on the Hill...
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Contempt threat against Fauci looms |
It was a long morning for Dr. Anthony Fauci, who faced hours of grueling questioning by Senate Republicans about his time leading the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. The scene wasn't as fiery as GOP lawmakers had hoped, though – Fauci pleaded the Fifth to every question, and Sen. Rand Paul later threatened to hold him in contempt.
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There's a twist: Fauci was pardoned by former President Biden for his actions in government from 2014 up through 2025. But in Paul's view, he could still be prosecuted for obstructing a congressional investigation outside of that window. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, told me this afternoon he'd support a contempt push, arguing Fauci "caused a lot of mistrust" today. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told me she wants to discuss the contempt push further to "really understand the legal ramifications." "I'd want to talk to a general counsel and just understand how we proceed," she said.
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Anthony Fauci, the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and medical advisor to several U.S. presidents, attends a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 29, 2026. Anthony Fauci declined to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Nathan Howard, REUTERS
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I caught Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican chairman of the Senate health committee, heading to lunch this afternoon after the Fauci hearing. The outgoing Louisiana senator declined to share his thoughts about the former public health chief's decision not to answer lawmakers' questions. "I truly didn’t watch it," Cassidy told me. "Somebody told me that." His restraint was notable, given he is a physician and prominent defender of immunizations who often criticizes vaccine skeptics in his party.
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Momentum for Graham's Russia sanctions bill |
I was sitting just across the Senate chamber last night from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was also perched up in the gallery to watch lawmakers vote to advance a Russia sanctions package. The legislation was ultimately greenlit, in a broad bipartisan vote, in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, as my colleague Fran Chambers and I reported. Nearly a dozen Democrats voted against it, though, citing concerns about how the bill would delegate broad tariff authority to President Trump. Still, in a remarkable lobbying campaign from the war-torn leader, Zelenskyy managed to convince other holdouts to get on board.
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Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com.
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Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination is in jeopardy, with two GOP senators voicing misgivings about a tax immunity deal involving the president.
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The Ukrainian president watched in the Senate chamber as lawmakers cast their votes.
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Senator Rand Paul released Anthony Fauci's diary, over a thousand pages of personal notes and emails during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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