The Senate panel chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) will hold a vote on holding Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt for refusing to testify about his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, an escalation in the long-running battle between the two men.

Paul said he scheduled the vote in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee because Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer questions at a Wednesday hearing, even though he received a blanket pardon from President Joe Biden.