Senate Judiciary Committee postpones Todd Blanche attorney general vote
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Two Republican senators on the committee have expressed concerns about Blanche.
What to know today
- FAUCI TESTIMONY: Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions over 100 times at a contentious Senate hearing about the origins of Covid. Republicans on the committee hit Fauci with a barrage of questions about his work with the Trump and Biden administrations, while most Democrats criticized the premise of the hearing.
- BLANCHE VOTE DELAYED: The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning for senators to vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general because of disagreement with two key GOP senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas.
- DULLES MAKEOVER: President Donald Trump announced a sweeping makeover of Dulles International Airport outside Washington at a White House event with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
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U.S. strikes Iran after Trump reportedly issues menacing new threat
The U.S. military attacked Iran today after Trump vowed to “beat the f---ing s--- out of” the country, according to Fox News, following new attacks on American forces in the Middle East.
U.S. Central Command announced on X that attacks against Iran had started at 8 p.m. ET.
“U.S. forces began launching strikes against Iran at 8 p.m. ET today. The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East,” CENTCOM wrote.
Senate committee postpones vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination over disagreements with GOP senators
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed its vote this morning on whether to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general after two Republican senators said they did not receive written assurances they were seeking from the Justice Department surrounding a settlement between Trump and the IRS.
Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both of whom have clashed with Trump and neither of whom faces re-election in November, have complicated Blanche’s path to confirmation with their demands from the Justice Department.
Former Obama White House counsel told lawmakers that Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre's allegations 'lacked inherent credibility'
Former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler told the House Oversight Committee in an interview that she did not know whether she viewed Jeffrey Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre as a victim of the late sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell.
“If she says that she was, I don’t have a reason to doubt that,” Ruemmler said when she was asked whether she viewed Giuffre as a victim. “However, there were allegations that she made that were, I believed based on my experience as a former prosecutor and as a defense counsel, that were of such a nature that they were — that they lacked inherent credibility.”
Ruemmler sat for an interview before the committee this month; the transcript was released today.
Family members of Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, fired back at Ruemmler this evening.
“The only person who lacks credibility is Kathy Ruemmler, who is trying to get people to believe that she didn’t know Jeffrey Epstein was actively engaged in sex trafficking,” Sky and Amanda Roberts said in a statement.
“To attempt to cast doubt on Virginia, whose bravery was the reason so many other survivors stepped forward, resulting in more than 50 people having to step down from their positions of power, is reprehensible. She should be ashamed of herself,” they said.
Ruemmler has not been accused of wrongdoing tied to Epstein.
During her interview, Ruemmler said she never saw evidence of criminal conduct by Epstein but regretted her association with him. She was probed about her correspondence with the convicted sex offender, in which she joked about a “best massage ever” that she said was not Epstein’s “kind of massage.”
Ruemmler called it an “offhanded joke” about Epstein’s conviction for soliciting sex from a minor, adding that the remark had been “in extraordinarily poor taste.”
Ruemmler, who most recently was chief counsel for Goldman Sachs, revealed that Epstein called her after he was arrested in 2019, saying she attended his arraignment “to understand what was going on.”
She also said she was asked to join Epstein’s defense team in the days following but declined, calling his conduct “wholly different, worse and more sinister ... than I had understood.”
Energy secretary warns of China's AI progress in announcing $100B data center in Kentucky
Energy Secretary Chris Wright focused heavily on warnings about the AI race with China at an event announcing plans to redevelop a federal plant in Western Kentucky into a $100 billion, privately funded data center campus.
Chris Wright. Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
“If China leads the way in artificial intelligence, they will be the dominant power in the world" for decades and centuries to come, Wright said in Paducah, where the Energy Department has a gaseous diffusion plant.
A short while later, Trump addressed the AI race with China speaking with reporters in the Oval Office.
“So we're leading China in AI by a lot,” Trump said. “Whoever wins with AI is going to win. That's how big it is. It's bigger than the internet ever was. It's bigger than anything ever was.”
Dulles passengers react to Trump's planned airport renovations
Passengers at Washington Dulles International Airport weighed in today on Trump’s renovation plans, with many saying removal of the “people movers” was long overdue.
Becky Saleh, who had just returned from Paris, said the airport’s people movers have long felt like “a temporary fix for a bigger problem,” adding they don’t leave a very good first impression for international travelers.
Bill Eberhardt, who said he flies through Dulles several times a year, also supported new spending on the airport, saying, “If we don’t invest in infrastructure, it just falls apart.”
Epstein survivors urge key senator not to confirm Blanche
A group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors met with staffers from Cornyn's office and urged him to vote against advancing Blanche's nomination.
“Todd Blanche is unfit to be acting attorney general because he is not here for the American people’s best interest, and he’s proven that time and time again,” one, Dani Bensky, said after the meeting with the Texas Republican's office.
Epstein survivors had complained that Blanche had blown off requests to meet with them. Blanche wound up meeting them this month after Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., made the meeting a condition for his vote.
Bensky said the meeting did not go well, with Blanche declining to pursue leads she said she and other survivors presented him.
“It just was the complete unwillingness to pursue actual leads here,” Bensky said, complaining that he was "condescending."
“He actually said the words 'get to the point' to us,” Bensky said. “We’re survivors who have been waiting to meet with him for nine months, eight months. We’ve been asking for meetings, and he very much said, 'Can you get to the point already?'”
The Justice Department disputed Bensky's account, specifically the "get to the point" line.
“It is unequivocally false to claim acting AG Blanche said that,” according to a Justice Department official who was in the room during the meeting.
In an emailed statement earlier in the day, Alessandra Serano, a Justice Department official who attended the meeting, said survivors “asked direct questions — including whether the Department could commit to compensation, commit to prosecuting a specific individual, and whether it would pursue remaining investigative leads. The Acting AG worked to address each of these questions directly and substantively over the course of a wide-ranging discussion where he was routinely interrupted."
She added: "Every survivor in attendance was given direct contact information for a senior DOJ leader. Several have already followed up since the meeting, and one meeting already took place Monday.”
John Fetterman defends Mitch McConnell's weekslong absence amid Democratic scrutiny
Sen. John Fetterman, who went through a lengthy absence from Congress in 2023 after he was treated for clinical depression, said he finds it “really strange” that people are seizing on Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence from Congress.
“Yes, he’s in rough shape; he’s an elderly man. He’s not running for re-election, and he’s not behaving in a way or claiming otherwise,” Fetterman, D-Pa., told NBC News' "Meet the Press NOW."
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
“We have better things we could focus on,” Fetterman said, adding that people will find out where McConnell, R-Ky., “really is” after the Senate’s August recess.
McConnell has been absent from the Senate since mid-June, when, according to his office, he fell and was subsequently hospitalized. He has not appeared in public, but he has released two statements, with accompanying photos, saying he is at a rehabilitation facility and not yet cleared to return to work.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has called on McConnell to “verbally address” the people of Kentucky and prove his capacity to serve, urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to “investigate” his condition.
Trump’s IRS carveout threatens to hold up Todd Blanche attorney general nomination
Todd Blanche’s path to confirmation as the next attorney general faced a setback today as two key Republicans pressed the Justice Department to commit in writing to kill an “anti-weaponization” fund that could give money to Trump allies and restrict the scope of the tax audit immunity given to the president and his family members.
The Senate Judiciary Committee had been set to hold a hearing to advance Blanche’s nomination tomorrow morning, and it would have gone to the full Senate if it were advanced by the committee. But GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both of whom have clashed with Trump and neither of whom faces re-election in November, have complicated Blanche’s path to confirmation.
Democrat Ben Wikler explores a 2028 run for Senate in Wisconsin
He’s in the midst of a national book tour, and his name often emerges as a potential leader of the Democratic National Committee. But former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler has his sights set on something else: a U.S. Senate run in 2028.
Ben Wikler. Jovanny Hernandez / USA Today Network via Reuters file
For months, Wikler has had discussions with insiders about running for future office, according to three people who spoke directly to him, including one who said he regularly talks to Wikler about his timing around a potential Senate campaign.
A second source said Wikler asked them about being part of a potential Senate campaign. Four others said they have direct knowledge about Wikler's talking to potential future team members for his Senate run.
Wikler doesn’t plan to make a final decision before the end of the year because he wants the focus on the governor’s race and the legislative races in November, according to the person who talks to him regularly.
Trump says he wants tariffs on Iran to be added to Russia sanctions bill championed by late Sen. Lindsey Graham
Trump said he wants lawmakers to add tariffs on Iran to the Russia sanctions bill that's under consideration in the Senate.
"I'd like them to add Iran as tariffs, not just as sanctions. I think it's important. That's what Lindsey wanted, because I heard that they have tariffs on Russia but not on those five countries with having to do with Iran. I'd like to see tariffs on Iran. It would make it much stronger," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
He did not say whether he would veto the bill if it passes Congress without tariffs on Iran.
The Senate advanced the measure named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who championed the bill, in an 86-12 last night. It has 62 co-sponsors and is likely to pass in the Senate. The House won't be able to take up the legislation until it returns from its August recess.
Trump says he believes Dulles renovation can get 'started fairly quickly' but may need congressional approvals
A reporter asked Trump whether the renovation of Dulles International Airport would take two years, but he didn't answer the question or provide a timeline.
Trump said only: "We think we can get it started fairly quickly."
"It's largely financed, and yeah, we need some approvals from Congress probably. But generally speaking, it's been very bipartisan," he added.
DHS spokesperson to resign after 5 months on the job
Lauren Bis, who has been the main Department of Homeland Security spokesperson for the last five months, said she is leaving the department to join the White House press team under Karoline Leavitt.
Bis took over the position after Tricia McLaughlin left in February.
A new spokesperson has not been named for the agency, which is in the middle of a historic immigration enforcement surge.
Alex Jones calls for Trump to be impeached over the Iran war
Far-right commentator Alex Jones is calling for Trump to be removed from office over his handling of the Iran war, becoming the latest member of right-wing media to speak out against him over Iran.
Alex Jones. Drew Angerer / Getty Images
"I’m calling for it right now: 25th Amendment, impeachment, whatever needs to happen to get this front and center, to get control of our country,” Jones, a prominent conspiracy theorist and former owner of Infowars, said in a video on X.
“They want us in a total war so they can censor and take our freedoms, nationalize everything and push us aside with AI — total liability, immunity and protection,” Jones said during a live broadcast about the military conflict with Iran. “This is a disaster. We are facing tyranny, but the public’s awakening.”
Jones is one of several prominent right-wing figures to break with Trump over the Iran war. Other prominent MAGA influencers, including Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, have also criticized the military offensive.
Francesca Hong solidifies lead in Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor, new poll finds
State Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, has grown her lead in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, according to a new poll.
Sara Stathas / The Washington Post via Getty Images
The latest Marquette University Law School survey — seen as the gold standard in the perennial swing state — showed Hong with the support of 38% of Democratic primary voters.
Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes came in a distant second with 16% support, while Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who re-entered the race last week after having dropped out days before, was at 7%. The other two candidates in the race got 2%. More than one-third of respondents, 34%, were still undecided.
The poll is the latest data point indicating that Hong — who has faced growing concerns from some Democrats about her viability in a general election — is the front-runner less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 primary.
“Francesca Hong has opened up her lead, expanded it beyond where it was a week or so ago,” said Charles Franklin, the director of the Marquette poll.
When pollsters asked voters who said they were undecided whom they were leaning toward voting for, 22% said they’d lean toward Hong, 15% said they’d lean toward Barnes, and 11% said they’d lean toward Crowley.
As for outgoing Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement of Crowley, 36% of respondents said it made them likelier to vote for him, 9% said they made it less likely, and 56% said it didn’t make a difference.
Trump reportedly issues menacing new threat after Iran targets U.S. forces in thwarted missile attack
Trump vowed to “beat the f---ing s--- out of” Iran after new attacks on American forces in the Middle East, Fox News reported today.
“They’re going to get a beating,” Trump said, according to Fox’s chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.
The comments followed what Washington described as a “surprise attack,” which prompted Saudi Arabia and the United States to retaliate against a Tehran-backed militia in Iraq.
Paul says committee will vote to refer Fauci to DOJ for contempt of Congress
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the committee will vote next week on holding Fauci in contempt of Congress, after Fauci pleaded the Fifth to all questions asked of him at his hearing this morning.
“We will schedule a vote. It’s already been scheduled for next week, for a vote on contempt of Congress, referral of contempt of Congress. If the vote is affirmative, it will be sent to the Department of Justice, and they will have to make a decision whether to pursue this,” Paul told NBC News after the hearing concluded.
“We believe that with his liability, his immunity from criminal liability, that he didn’t need to hide behind the Fifth Amendment, and that maybe the Fifth Amendment doesn’t attach when you have a pardon in place,” he added.
The vote is expected to occur at a Homeland Security business meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Aug. 5, Paul’s office told NBC News.
Cornyn 'not prepared to vote yes' on Todd Blanche nomination
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he is "not prepared to vote yes" to confirm Todd Blanche to be attorney general, after a planned meeting between the two did not happen this morning.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Heather Diehl / Getty Images file
Cornyn, one of two Republicans on the Judiciary Committee who have expressed hesitancy about Blanche’s nomination, wouldn't say if he would vote against it but said that he still has concerns about the DOJ's handling of the settlement between the IRS and the president.
“I haven’t seen a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I’ve requested,” Cornyn said.
A DOJ official told NBC News in a statement, "The DOJ provided a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday following ongoing discussion with both the Committee and the Senator’s office. We look forward to further discussion around any outstanding concerns."
A source familiar with the ongoing talks between Cornyn and the DOJ over Blanche's nomination said that the Justice Department sent Cornyn a written proposal and other materials last night addressing Cornyn’s concerns about the IRS settlement agreement.
Cornyn’s request for rescinding the proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and restricting the scope of the tax audit immunity granted to the president and his family.
Cornyn said that Blanche has until 4 p.m. today to deliver him something that alleviates his concerns, as that’s when Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has asked Senators to say if they will support Blanche’s nomination at tomorrow’s committee vote.
If Cornyn or Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., vote against Blanche, the nomination would not have the votes to be reported to the full Senate favorably.
"We still got a little time,” Cornyn said. "Hopefully, they now recognize the seriousness of this."
Trump to announce makeover of Dulles airport
Trump is set to announce a sweeping makeover of Dulles International Airport, including the construction of new terminals and the removal of the airport’s shuttles — known as “people movers” — according to a senior White House official and another source with knowledge of the plan.
He’s scheduled to announce details at a 3 p.m. event today in the Oval Office with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Washington Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Va. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images file
Trump has been eyeing the project for months. His motorcade took a detour through Dulles last October to “assess potential future projects,” the White House said at the time.
“We’re also going to rebuild Dulles Airport because it’s not a good airport,” he said at a December Cabinet meeting. “It should be a great airport. It’s not a good airport at all. It’s a terrible airport.”
In a news release that day, the Department of Transportation said: “Washington Dulles International Airport is known for its dated facilities, inefficient system of people movers that deliver passengers as much as a half mile away from their gates, its moon-rover-like “mobile lounges,” jet fuel smell in the concourses, and a paltry number of gates at the main terminal.”
Multiple sources previously told NBC News the Trump administration had asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for Dulles International Airport and New York’s Penn Station to be named after Trump in exchange for releasing the federal funds required to build a long-delayed tunnel between New York and New Jersey.
How Biden's pardon of Fauci factored into today's Senate hearing
One of former President Joe Biden’s last acts in office in 2025 was to issue a preemptive pardon for several individuals whom he felt could face future political targeting, including Fauci.
That pardon covered the 11 years prior to when the pardon was issued. Fauci thanked Biden and said at the time he was “the subject of politically motivated threats of investigation and prosecution.”
Joe Biden and Anthony Fauci. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images file
That pardon was a factor in the decision-making from Fauci’s legal team in determining that the former infectious disease expert should not answer senators’ questions at a hearing on Capitol Hill today because Republicans had consistently implied that the pardon wouldn’t apply to new statements.
The pardon itself states that it is “FOR ANY OFFENSES against the United States which he may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon arising from or in any manner related to his service as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force or the White House COVID-19 Response Team, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., explained it this way: “He has a pardon for past action. This show trial is a perjury craft for criminal prosecution going forward. He can still be prosecuted for any kind of answers that he gives here. And so the more prudent course was to claim the Fifth Amendment, because the obvious objective here is, in fact, to put him in danger of criminal prosecution.”
Interestingly though, Sen. Rand Paul claimed Fauci was “protected by the pardon” as a way to stress that he should answer questions and appear before the committee.
"There’s no risk to perjury if you tell the truth," Paul said. "In fact, he can even admit to not telling the truth in the past. He can admit destroying records. He can admit to you know not adequately presenting both sides of equations, which isn’t really a crime. He can admit to anything. The only thing he can’t do is lie again."
Fauci hearing ends after he invokes Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times
After roughly three hours, the Senate hearing ended. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right 106 times during the hearing.
Fauci's lawyer says it was 'outrageous' for Paul to remove him from hearing room
Fauci's lawyer, David Schertler, said in a statement that it was "outrageous" for Paul to "exclude his counsel for making a legitimate legal point."
"It proves the baseless and vindictive nature of this proceeding and Rand Paul's personal vendetta against Dr. Fauci," Schertler said.
Paul had security remove Schertler from the hearing room earlier because Paul said he was disrupting the hearing and was sitting at the table with Fauci, which he was directed not to do.
Blumenthal compares today's hearing to McCarthyism
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters he would not be asking Fauci questions, telling reporters that the hearing "smacks of a show trial, a vendetta, a continuing effort not only to discredit Dr. Fauci but science, and medicine, generally."
He added that he's not surprised that Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment, saying that the hearing was a perjury trap with an objective to "put him in jeopardy of criminal prosecution as part of the vendetta."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Graeme Sloan / Getty Images file
"The more prudent course was to claim the Fifth Amendment, because the obvious objective here is, in fact, to put him in danger of criminal prosecution," Blumenthal said.
During his questioning time, Blumenthal said "let's be very clear, the Fifth Amendment is a right of everyone appearing before an authority like this one. It should be respected."
The Connecticut senator pointed to statements from the chair of the committee, saying the hearing was an attempt to trap Fauci in criminal wrongdoing and compared it to the McCarthy hearings that took place from 1953 to 1954 to investigate alleged communist influence by a large number of American citizens.
"We should not be part of a rerun of that kind of effort. This attempt to rebrand one of the most challenging times in our nation's history is a short-sighted act of desperation that will leave us less prepared for the next pandemic," Blumenthal said.
What is the lab leak theory?
Central to much of the questioning of Fauci today is the theory that Covid was not a naturally occurring virus, but rather one that escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China.
The theory, which emerged early in the pandemic, was generally downplayed by many scientists but warmly embraced by Trump and many on the right. Since then, the theory has gained some traction, including from a 2025 CIA finding that shifted the agency's previous assessment to conclude that it is likely that Covid came from the lab — though the agency had "low confidence" in the judgment.
Fauci initially downplayed the idea of a lab leak and has maintained he believes it came from an animal, though he told CNN in 2021 that he had an "open mind" about other sources of origin.
Hassan slams current Trump administration public health issues
In her questioning time, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., told Fauci she would have preferred a hearing about the current public health crises plaguing the U.S., rather than the Covid pandemic.
"Children are dying because there has been increased vaccine hesitancy, fueled by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, and frankly, entire administration," Hassan said.
She also cited the ongoing cyclospora outbreak, saying, "Thousands of people in the United States of America have been sickened by a foodborne parasite, and the outbreak is nowhere near under control."
Hassan continued to cite ongoing public issues, including ones she's heard about from her local community health clinic.
"That's what I wish we were trying to address in a bipartisan way. But instead, we are here in an attempt to entrap you, because you had a distinguished career trying to put Americans' public health first," the New Hampshire senator told Fauci.
Peters says Fauci hearing will deter scientists from taking roles in public health
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the top Democrat on this committee, blasted the hearing as one painting Fauci as a "scapegoat."
“I think today’s hearing, unfortunately, does real damage," Peters said. "It’s tempting to turn one person into the scapegoat for a crisis that hundreds of officials across both the Trump and the Biden administration were responsible for handling, and it does so in a way that people that are facing death threats."
The Michigan senator added that hearings like this will "deter" future scientists from pursuing roles in public health.
"This is only going to unfortunately deter other scientific experts from public service to understand that this is what they would have to go through as they provide their advice to us," Peters said.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., speaks at the hearing today. Allison Robbert / AP
Paul has one of Fauci's lawyers removed from hearing room
After Paul continued to criticize Fauci over his decision to plead the Fifth, he turned his attention to one of Fauci's lawyers, David Schertler.
"You're not recognized. You're not recognized. If you are unruly, you will be removed from the proceeding ... you you are not recognized, sir," Paul said. "You were told not to sit at the table. You insist on sitting at the table, and we told you you would not be recognized. You are not invited here for testimony, sir. You are being disruptive. Would you behave this way in a courtroom? No, because the judge would put you in jail. I can't do that today, but I can have you escorted from the premises."
The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, said that he wanted to hear from Fauci's lawyer, but Paul said, "He is not recognized by the committee or the chair. If he speaks again, he will be removed from the room. This testimony is from Anthony Fauci. This is not a game with his lawyers."
"Security, please remove him from the room," Paul said, which drew applause from people attending the hearing.
David Schertler, the attorney for former NIH Director Anthony Fauci, is removed from the hearing room. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Paul has gone after Fauci for years
Today is only the most recent in what is now a yearslong push by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to go after Fauci for what he has alleged are misleading comments and bad decisions.
In 2020, Fauci and Paul squared off during testimony in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about handling of the Covid pandemic. In 2021, Paul began to push harder on the Wuhan Institute of Virology and funding from the National Institutes of Health. In 2022, Fauci said Paul's attacks on him "kindles the crazies" and have led to threats on his life.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., questions former NIH Director Anthony Fauci today. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Paul pushes Fauci to answer questions on 'gain of function' research
Many of Paul's questions focus on "gain of function" research, a topic that the senator has pursued for years.
Gain of function research involves manipulating viruses in a lab to make them more dangerous or more transmissible to understand their inner workings.
Such research isn’t altogether uncommon in virology, but such experiments are controversial because of the risks. A scientist could, for example, unwittingly or by design create a pathogen that is better adapted to invade human cells or cause more severe infections.
But there are real benefits to gain of function research, Robert Garry, a virologist at Tulane University in New Orleans, told NBC News in 2021. For one, understanding the characteristics of a virus and its transmissibility is critical to developing vaccines and lifesaving drugs, he said.
He said most virologists take the responsibility of such experiments seriously.
“It’s not the Wild West,” he said. “It’s very highly regulated.”
Hearing grows tense after Fauci continues to plead the Fifth
The hearing is becoming slightly tense as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., continued to press Fauci to answer his questions about Covid research.
"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer, based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution," Fauci said.
At one point, Paul asked Fauci to acknowledge that there was a red folder in front of him laying out the conditions of the subpoena he is appearing under.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is sworn in today. Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images
"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution," Fauci said again.
Paul responded, "Let the record reflect that the witness has refused to answer whether there's a folder in front of him based on his Fifth Amendment right."
Fauci pleads the Fifth and calls Paul ‘unhinged’
Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer senators’ questions at a hearing today on the origins of Covid and the government’s handling of the pandemic, saying in prepared remarks that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid the possibility that Republicans could try to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury.
The surprise decision shook up the hearing, which was expected to be contentious given Fauci’s previous public clashes with Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Paul says he 'would be very disappointed' if Fauci pleads the fifth
On his way into the hearing, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., told reporters he thinks the American people “would be very disappointed” if Dr. Anthony Fauci pleads the Fifth instead of answering questions in his hearing.
“Somebody worked for 40 years for government. I think they have an obligation to explain to Americans how was the decision made, who made the decision, why was the decision made to fund dangerous research in Wuhan, China,” Paul said about Fauci.
“A million Americans died in the pandemic, and they deserve to know why dangerous research was funded to move on. I hope we get that answer today,” he added.
Fauci’s journal reveals how the Trump and Biden White Houses handled their Covid cases
Fauci served seven administrations as a public health expert and detailed much of his experience publicly. But journal entries a Republican senator published this week offer new details about how the administrations of Trump and Joe Biden handled their Covid diagnoses.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden fends off challenger in GOP primary runoff
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has won his Republican primary, NBC News projects, after he was forced into a runoff in his bid for a full term in office.
He defeated businessman and political newcomer Toby Doeden in a one-on-one matchup yesterday after no candidate won 35% of the vote in the initial June primary.
Rhoden will face off in the November general election against Democrat Dan Ahlers, a former state senator, in the solidly red state. South Dakota has not had a Democratic governor since the 1970s, and its two U.S. senators and lone House member are all Republicans.
South Carolina to honor Graham with funeral services and flyover
The late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will be honored with funeral services and a flyover in Columbia, South Carolina, this morning.
The public is invited to pay its respects along a procession route this morning at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, where Graham’s political career began in 1993.
Graham’s casket will be carried by a South Carolina State Guard horse-drawn military wagon, known as a caisson, and there will be a presentation of law enforcement from agencies across South Carolina on the north steps of the State House. An F-16 flyover from the 169th Fighter Wing from McEntire Joint National Guard Base will follow at about 11 a.m. ET.
The caisson will continue down Main Street and arrive at First Baptist Church of Columbia, where a funeral service will be held. A private family burial will take place in Pickens County, South Carolina, where Lindsey and Darline Graham were born and raised.
Two Democrats advance to a runoff in the Georgia special election to succeed late Rep. David Scott
Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late Rep. David Scott, and fellow Democrat Everton Blair advanced to a runoff yesterday in the Georgia special election to fill the final months of the longtime congressman’s term in the House, NBC News projects.
The two candidates finished atop a five-candidate, all-party special primary election for Georgia’s 13th District. But since no one got majority support, the race will go one more round.
With about 80% of the expected vote tallied, Marcye Scott had 47% support and Blair, a former school board chair in Gwinnett County, had 37%.
David Scott died April 22, triggering the special election to decide who holds the seat for the rest of 2026.
Fauci to testify on Covid origins at Senate hearing today
The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing this morning with Dr. Anthony Fauci on the origins of Covid and the government’s response to the pandemic.
Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., subpoenaed Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for his testimony and has accused him of lying about the origins of the coronavirus, which Fauci has denied.
Paul has been releasing troves of documents related to Fauci and his claims about the origins of Covid, including what they are calling “diaries” he kept during his time as NIAID director.
Fauci was given a pardon by President Joe Biden before he left office, but Republicans have said that if Fauci were to lie during testimony before the committee today, that would not be covered by Biden’s pardon.
“There’s no risk to perjury if you tell the truth,” Paul told reporters yesterday.
Abdul El-Sayed lands endorsement from Ed Markey in Michigan Senate primary
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., has endorsed Abdul El-Sayed days ahead of Michigan’s hotly contested Democratic Senate primary.
“Abdul El-Sayed is the bold progressive leader Michiganders need fighting for them in the Senate,” Markey said in a statement shared first with NBC News, which also emphasized El-Sayed’s refusal to accept campaign donations from corporate PACs. “As a doctor and public health leader in Detroit, Abdul has seen firsthand how our broken health care system leaves working families behind, and we need him in the Senate to help pass Medicare for All and guarantee health care as a human right.”
Markey joins his fellow Massachusetts Democrat, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in backing El-Sayed. The former public health official also boasts support from the United Auto Workers, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
El-Sayed is locked in a tense race with Rep. Haley Stevens for the Democratic nomination to succeed Sen. Gary Peters, who is not seeking a third term this fall. The winner of next week’s primary will face former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is unopposed on the Republican side, in the general election.
Stevens last week scored the endorsement of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She also has backing from Peters, former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
Markey, meanwhile, is also preparing for his own tough primary against Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton in Massachusetts.
