Trump Admin Declares China ‘Lab Leak’ the True Origins of COVID-19
The Trump administration has doubled down on the lab-leak theory of COVID-19’s origins, publishing an in-depth statement Friday accusing public health officials and intelligence agencies of suppressing the theory for political purposes.
“Public health officials often mislead the American people through conflicting messaging, knee-jerk reactions, and a lack of transparency. Most egregiously, the federal government demonized alternative treatments and disfavored narratives, such as the lab leak theory, in a shameful effort to coerce and control the American people’s health decisions,” the new White House webpage said.
The White House took aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci directly, saying he pushed “the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally.”
Why It Matters
The release follows a declassified CIA report that assessed the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a research lab in Wuhan, China. The assessment, released Saturday, emphasized that both lab-related and natural origins remain plausible and admitted a “low confidence” rating in its findings.
John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in last week as CIA director, said the decision to publish the report was a matter of transparency.
What To Know
Framed as an in-depth exposé, the webpage promotes the lab-leak theory using bullet-pointed arguments, official citations, and pointed critiques of U.S. institutions.
It targets not only Dr. Anthony Fauci but also former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), EcoHealth Alliance, and the World Health Organization—accusing them of covering up or obstructing investigations into the origins of the virus.
The site alleges that U.S. taxpayer money funded high-risk gain-of-function research in Wuhan and claims that federal agencies actively delayed or blocked oversight efforts. It cites ongoing congressional investigations by the House Oversight Committee and accuses the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services of shielding key public health officials from scrutiny.
This aggressive messaging reflects the long-running effort by Trump-era officials to elevate the lab-leak hypothesis. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly stated that the virus likely originated in a Chinese lab.
“We weren’t cherry-picking the evidence. We were reading all of the intelligence,” Pompeo told Politico. “And the world now knows that our judgments were supported by an enormous amount of evidence that continues to grow.”
The latest CIA report, however, does not present new intelligence. Instead, it reflects a reevaluation of existing data.
“The CIA has ‘low confidence’ in its assessment that a ‘research-related origin’ of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely,” a senior intelligence official told Reuters. The agency maintains that both lab-based and natural origin theories remain plausible and says it is open to considering new evidence as it emerges.
China quickly rejected the CIA’s conclusion. “We firmly oppose the politicization and stigmatization of the source of the virus,” said Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China’s U.S. embassy, in a statement to the Associated Press.
The Role of Fauci
The webpage was released after Dr. Anthony Fauci—who retired in 2022 following decades as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—received a sweeping preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden. Issued in Biden’s final days in office, the pardon covers Fauci from 2014 onward, effectively insulating him from potential retroactive legal exposure related to the virus’s origins or the U.S. role in overseas research.
In the early pandemic, Fauci was a prominent figure in the federal response and often clashed with Trump over mask mandates and other health measures. While many saw Biden’s pardon as a buffer against MAGA-aligned investigations, the decision’s backdating to a period years before the first known COVID-19 cases raised additional scrutiny.
What People Are Saying
Representative Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio Republican and chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, opened the report by stating: “The possibility that COVID-19 emerged because of a laboratory or research-related accident is not a conspiracy theory.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, testifying before the same subcommittee in 2023, said: “I have kept an open mind throughout the entire process, despite the fact that I felt then, and still do, that the most likely origin is a natural occurrence.”
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China’s U.S. embassy, reiterated Beijing’s stance: “Once again we call on everyone to respect science and stay away from conspiracy theories.”
What Happens Next
The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into EcoHealth Alliance’s activities during the pandemic. Congressional hearings, potential subpoenas, and further declassifications are expected as debate over the virus’s origin enters a new and more politically charged phase.
Update 4/18/25, 12:27 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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