16:11 [ CNN ]

Senate panel votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress

Republican chairman Rand Paul has said he will send the committee’s recommendation straight to the Justice Department, bypassing a full Senate vote in a break with precedent that’s likely to set up a high-stakes legal and political test for the Trump administration.

Vice President JD Vance will now first need to sign off on the committee’s circumvention of long-established rules due to his constitutional role as president of the Senate. Then it would be up to the Justice Department to decide whether to bring formal charges.