Dr. Anthony Fauci Held in Contempt of Congress After Senate Committee Vote

Dr. Anthony Fauci's Capitol Hill headaches are piling up ... the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted Thursday to hold him in contempt of Congress after he refused to answer questions last week -- pleading the Fifth 111 times.

The 8-5 party-line vote tees up a potential criminal referral to the DOJ for allegedly blowing off a congressional subpoena ... but it would need 60 votes in the full Senate, making that a long shot.

Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul -- who's been leading the charge against Fauci -- said Thursday the contempt vote isn't about Fauci's pandemic policies or opinions ... it's about his refusal to answer questions after Paul ordered him to do so.

The Kentucky Republican says Fauci can't hide behind the Fifth because former President Joe Biden gave him a broad preemptive pardon before leaving office in 2025. Fauci and his attorneys see it differently ... arguing answering questions could still expose him to legal jeopardy.

Democrats tried to pump the brakes before Thursday's vote, but the Republican majority rejected multiple attempts to stop the resolution. Sen. Maggie Hassan defended Fauci's decision to take the Fifth ... saying last week's hearing was designed to target him and arguing he had little choice but to avoid walking into what she described as a legal trap.

As TMZ previously reported, Fauci came out swinging ... accusing Paul of having an "unhinged obsession" with getting him prosecuted and then repeatedly invoking his Fifth Amendment rights as senators grilled him over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Things got seriously heated ... one of Fauci's attorneys was tossed from the hearing after trying to speak at the end of Paul's questioning, and Sen. Bernie Moreno later unloaded on Fauci, asking, "Who the f*** do you think you are?" Fauci's response -- you guessed it -- the Fifth.

And Fauci's not out of the congressional hot seat yet ... Paul has repeatedly said he wants him prosecuted and imprisoned ... while House Oversight Chairman James Comer is also gearing up to grill him over his previous testimony.