Republican Senator Ted Cruz has called for Anthony Fauci, the former White House chief medical adviser, to be held in contempt of Congress, prosecuted for perjury and jailed, after Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a Senate hearing. Cruz's remarks came after the hearing on Wednesday, in which he branded Fauci one of America's "most damaging" bureaucrats over his handling of and public statements about the Covid-19 pandemic. The intervention reflects continuing Republican efforts to hold Fauci accountable for pandemic-era decisions, including on the origins of the virus and public health guidance.

According to Fox News, Fauci declined to answer questions by pleading the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times (reported elsewhere as 111 times) during the hearing, prompting anger from several Republican senators, including Rand Paul and Josh Hawley, who accused him of showing contempt for the Senate. Cruz told Fox News Digital that future generations would look back and ask "what collective madness overtook this country," underlining the intensity of Republican criticism, though it remains unclear whether any formal contempt or perjury proceedings will follow.