Rand Paul's immunity bid for key Fauci aide fails Senate committee vote

GOP Senator Rand Paul's bid to secure legal immunity for a long-time aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci in exchange for testimony failed on Wednesday after Democrats voted down the measure. 

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Paul chairs, announced this week that it would seek "a resolution authorizing an application for a court order compelling testimony under immunity from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s longtime special assistant" pursuant to the committee's probe into the origins of COVID-19. 

Federal law allows congressional committees to seek such a court order, but only by a two-thirds majority vote of the committee. Because the panel voted 8-7 along party lines, the Democrats effectively sunk the resolution. 

Paul declined to identify the aide, but previously said she expressed concern about testifying with legal immunity. The senator previously subpoenaed the assistant to appear before the committee for a closed-door meeting, but she invoked her 5th Amendment rights and declined to answer the committee's questions.