Senate Panels Advance Contempt Vote Against Fauci; Delay Blanche AG Nomination

In early August 2026, the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer questions during testimony the previous week. Separately, in late July 2026, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a scheduled vote on advancing Todd Blanche's nomination to serve as U.S. attorney general. Both actions took place in Washington and involved Republican-led Senate committees responding to unresolved disputes with the executive branch or a nominee. According to CBS News and NPR, the Fauci contempt vote stemmed from his refusal to answer questions posed during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing held the prior week; specific questions or topics were not detailed in available reporting. Regarding Blanche, the Associated Press, The Guardian, and NBC News reported that the Judiciary Committee delayed its vote because at least two Republican senators, including John Cornyn, said the Department of Justice had not provided written confirmation that a $1.8 billion fund connected to a Trump-IRS settlement had been terminated. Cornyn stated he would withhold support for Blanche's nomination absent that written assurance. NPR additionally reported that Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's Democratic Senate primary the same day the Fauci vote occurred, though this event is unrelated to the contempt proceedings. The outcome of the full Senate's consideration of the Fauci contempt citation, including any subsequent floor vote or enforcement action, was not detailed in available reporting. Similarly, it remains unresolved whether the Justice Department has since provided the written assurances Republican senators sought regarding the $1.8 billion fund, and no rescheduled date for the Judiciary Committee's vote on Blanche's nomination was confirmed in the reports reviewed. The precise nature and origin of the $1.8 billion fund were not fully detailed across sources.