The U.S. government intelligence apparatus has recently shifted in its assessment of the origins of the Covid-19 virus, now potentially endorsing a minor view that the virus occurred as a result of work in a Chinese lab. Scientists predominantly believe the virus occurred naturally in animals, though the US Department of Energy's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence has joined the now-two tentacled US government intelligence apparatus in advocating for the lab leak theory. The lab leak hypothesis is currently supported by a minority of the intelligence community, and still lacks conclusive evidence, with the majority of the intelligence community leaning toward the natural occurrence Theory.

In response to the debate surrounding the origin of Covid-19, House Republicans have created a select subcommittee to investigate the issue and the role of China in the virus' early spread. Polling from 2021 reflects a majority of Americans believing China had something to do with the