The Senate Homeland Security Governmental Affairs Committee is set to vote Thursday morning on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic response, in contempt of Congress.

The vote follows Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the pandemic, invoking the Fifth Amendment, which protects people from self-incrimination, over 100 times during a committee hearing last week on the pandemic response and the origins of the virus.

“There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify,” committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, warned the retired government employee.

A vote in favor of holding Fauci in contempt could initiate a process that would result in the Justice Department considering whether to charge him with a crime, according to CNN. 

However, the process – or the possibility – of the DOJ taking up the matter is complicated by President Biden, before leaving office, giving Fauci a preemptive pardon for any crimes he might have committed dating back to 2024. 

Whether Fauci was covered by the pardon during the hearing and the mix of the pardon while pleading the Fifth Amendment is at the center of the legal matter.