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Dr. Anthony S. Fauci refused on Wednesday to answer questions from a Senate committee, repeatedly invoking his constitutional right not to incriminate himself before a panel dominated by hostile Republicans who accused him of causing the coronavirus pandemic and insinuated that he enriched himself while Americans died. “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution,” Dr. Fauci repeated more than 100 times during a nearly three-hour hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. (Stolberg, 7/29)

A Senate committee plans to vote next week on whether to recommend holding Anthony Fauci, MD, in contempt following a hearing on Wednesday that centered on how the infectious disease expert handled the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the origins of the deadly coronavirus. (Frieden, 7/29)

Besides the illness and death, the disruption and the loneliness, Americans remember the pandemic for its vitriol. The handling of Covid divided the parties, the states, families and neighbors and it’s taken years, in many cases, to repair the damage. Former Covid czar Anthony Fauci’s appearance on Capitol Hill Wednesday brought it all back. Rather than an evaluation of what went wrong and right, or how to do better next time, the rage stood out. (Paun, Levien and King, 7/29)

Dr. Anthony Fauci faced dozens of questions and theatrics Wednesday before the Senate's Homeland Security Committee. (Scribner, 7/29)

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) lobbed an expletive at Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing Wednesday on the origins of and government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the former White House chief medical adviser invoked his Fifth Amendment right. Moreno said he decided to run for office soon after learning that a woman was arrested at an Ohio middle school football game in 2020 for refusing to wear a mask, which was reportedly against the school’s policy at the time. (Davis, 7/29)

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Wednesday he is launching a probe into Dr. Anthony Fauci after the longtime health official invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during a Senate hearing about the COVID-19 pandemic. “Fauci’s lack of candor to Congress is unbelievable,” Uthmeier wrote on social media. “My office is launching an investigation into Dr. Fauci. It’s past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID.” (Rego, 7/29)

Four Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s family will profit from a sizeable settlement involving Merck's human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Gardasil). In a letter dated July 28, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (Md.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Andy Kim (N.J.) wrote, "We are seeking clarity on whether this settlement may have resulted in a significant financial award to one of your sons, raising fresh concerns about conflicts of interest you may possess" as HHS Secretary. (Firth, 7/29)

Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that attempts to improve identification and treatment for children who stutter, with an assist from former NBA player Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The legislation, titled the Kidd’s Stuttering Act, proposes directing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to add stuttering and fluency screening measures to its core set of pediatric health quality measures by 2028. (Rego, 7/29)

Two leading Democrats on the U.S. Senate committee that oversees transportation safety pressed the nation’s regulator of buses on Wednesday to provide proof it can detect troubled private companies that provide services to schools and municipalities. (Sanders and Mariano, 7/29)