Senate

Spain's Senate voted 142 to 106 to block ratification of the Spain-France Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation on September 30, during French President Emmanuel Macron's first state visit to Spain since 2009. The opposition People's Party, holding an absolute Senate majority, opposed a clause allowing a minister from one country to attend the other's cabinet meetings.

A Republican-led Senate committee has voted to hold former NIH immunologist Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he refused to answer questions about COVID-19 origins, citing his Fifth Amendment right. Fauci argues a broad presidential pardon from Joe Biden shields him, but Republicans say it cannot override his obligation to testify.