(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick wants to bar anyone who refuses to testify before Congress from working for the government.
The Georgia Republican said the appearance of Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, led him to revive the bill, which he first introduced in 2024.
Fauci appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to protect against self-incrimination. The committee subpoenaed Fauci – given “full and unconditional” pardon with no investigations happening by then-President Joe Biden in January 2024 extending to Jan. 1, 2014 – to testify about his role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you can hide from Congress, you shouldn’t be able to work for the federal government,” said Congressman McCormick. “Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight, and federal employees have a duty to tell the truth. Full stop. If someone lies under oath or refuses to cooperate with a lawful investigation, there should be consequences. Public service is a privilege, and no one is above the law.”
The bill, called “Stop the Swamp,” allows Congress to refer uncooperative witnesses to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal law already makes lying to Congress a crime, but McCormick’s bill would add additional consequences for federal employees who refuse to testify.
Fauci said before his testimony, he was concerned Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the committee, would seek to arrest him based on his testimony, regardless of the pardon issued by Biden.
“The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,'” Fauci said.
Senators plan to vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress.
“All he had to do today, if he wanted to testify, was be honest,” Paul said. “As long as he was honest, even about committing a crime, he would have no jeopardy, but I think the pardon has given him more immunity than most people would ever get.”
