Sen. Ted Cruz unleashed sharp criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci after a contentious Senate hearing, accusing him of long-running deceit, calling for criminal charges, and pointing to new diary entries and repeated Fifth Amendment invocations as proof of misconduct.

Sen. Ted Cruz reacted forcefully after Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer questions at a Senate hearing, saying the moment demands accountability. Cruz argued Fauci misled the country on key pandemic details and has shown what he called contempt for both Congress and the American people.

During a brief exchange with a reporter at the Capitol, Cruz asked a rhetorical question about national judgment: “Years from now, they’ll look back and say, ‘what collective madness overtook this country?’” He confirmed his support for holding Fauci in contempt, insisting that the conduct seen in the hearing warrants legal scrutiny.

Cruz accused Fauci of lying repeatedly, pointing to entries in a newly released diary that he said contradict Fauci’s public statements about COVID-19’s origin. He highlighted a passage where Fauci reportedly acknowledged early that the virus did not come from a Wuhan wet market, yet later presented a different public narrative.

Cruz pressed further on the damage he believes followed Fauci’s advice on closures and school policies, saying Fauci “brags about convincing Democrats in New York and California to shut schools down, and yet he goes on TV and says, ‘Oh, I wasn’t for shutdowns.’” He also stressed the long-term harm to children from those decisions and criticized Fauci’s invocation of his Fifth Amendment rights more than 100 times.

He’s been the most damaging bureaucrat in the history of America. And I will say, the school shutdowns, which Fauci bragged that he was responsible for, may well be the single most destructive public policy step we’ve seen in decades. That learning will stick with those kids the rest of their lives. When they’re 90 years old, they will still be suffering the consequences of Anthony Fauci’s corrupt and dishonest shutdowns and the fact that he knew he was lying to the American people.

After the hearing Cruz declared plainly, “He should be prosecuted for perjury, and he should go to jail.”

Several Republican senators have signaled they will press forward; Sen. Rand Paul, who leads the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said the panel will vote next week on holding Fauci in contempt. Paul added, “I think there is a very real chance that he could be prosecuted for that,” framing the vote as a potential step toward formal legal consequences.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville used even harsher language after the hearing, saying, “He should be locked up before he leaves this building today and put in prison, and then put on trial in front of the American people.” That sentiment reflects a growing GOP consensus that Fauci’s testimony and prior messaging deserve far more aggressive responses than a polite rebuke.

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Republicans point to the release of more than 1,000 pages from Fauci’s diary as evidence that public statements during the pandemic contradict private notes, especially about the virus’s origin. They assert those discrepancies amount to intentional falsehoods to Congress and the public, and they have argued that a preemptive pardon offered by President Biden complicates Fauci’s ability to claim the Fifth Amendment.

State-level inquiries are also on the table: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a state investigation into Fauci’s conduct, adding another layer of scrutiny beyond Capitol Hill. GOP investigators have centered claims that Fauci misrepresented the wet market theory and that senior officials coordinated messaging that misled Americans about risks and policy choices.

The hearing and its fallout have energized Republican calls for accountability and legal action, with multiple lawmakers now openly discussing contempt votes and prosecutions. Whatever happens next, the episode has sharpened a longstanding conservative critique of unelected public health officials wielding broad influence over national policy during the pandemic.