House Votes Unanimously To Declassify Intel On COVID-19 Origins

On Friday, The U.S. House of Representatives voted 419-0 in favor of declassifying intel linking the Wuhan Institute of Virology and COVID-19.

The Details: The legislation, proposed by Rep. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rep. Mike Braun (R-IN), will now go to President Joe Biden's desk for approval. The White House is reportedly “taking a look” at the bill, but there's no word yet on whether Biden will sign it.

For Context: The vote comes after the U.S. Department of Energy shifted its stance on COVID-19's origins in support of the theory it leaked from the Wuhan lab. The pandemic's origin has become a polarizing issue, especially on Capitol Hill. Republican officials and pundits have given more weight to the DOE’s findings, while Democrats have pointed to the findings of other intelligence agencies who believe the pandemic began with natural animal-to-human transmission.

Key Quotes: Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) said “It is important that the American people have as much objective information as possible without extreme partisan rhetoric.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said the U.S. has been "politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing COVID origins-tracing."

How The Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum covered the events somewhat similarly. CBS News highlighted Republicans’ “use” of the DOE’s findings to criticize Dr. Anthony Fauci.