Sen. Rand Paul Issues Subpoena Compelling Fauci Testimony on COVID-19 Origins and Alleged Misrepresentations to Congress

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) issued a subpoena on June 22, 2026, requiring former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci to provide public testimony before the committee next month after Fauci withdrew from a previously agreed voluntary appearance. Paul announced the subpoena, stating that Fauci had notified the committee he would not testify voluntarily despite an earlier commitment, prompting the formal compulsion for a public hearing.

The subpoena focuses on whether Fauci misled Congress regarding NIH funding of gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. Paul’s committee has conducted extensive oversight into the pandemic’s origins, examining evidence of a potential lab incident versus a natural spillover. Recent declassifications by former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on June 18, 2026, have intensified scrutiny, revealing documents on Fauci’s communications with intelligence officials, NIH grants routed through EcoHealth Alliance to the Wuhan lab for bat coronavirus experiments, and potential suppression of the lab-leak hypothesis.

Intelligence agencies remain divided on COVID-19 origins, with some assessments and whistleblower accounts highlighting lab-related risks and safety issues at Wuhan. Paul has long questioned Fauci’s 2021 testimony denying NIH support for gain-of-function research there, amid evidence of taxpayer-funded risky experiments that critics argue may have contributed to the pandemic.

The subpoena escalates congressional efforts for sworn accountability on pandemic response, research funding, and early messaging. With Fauci declining voluntary testimony, the public hearing next month will allow direct questioning under oath. Fauci has denied wrongdoing or lying to Congress and received a preemptive pardon from former President Biden, but the testimony remains a key step for transparency and restoring public trust in health institutions. Paul’s committee aims to follow the evidence to inform future biological research safeguards and pandemic preparedness.