McCarthy calls for Biden administration to declassify intelligence on COVID-19 origin

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is calling on the Biden administration to release information regarding the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

"Think about ... what people had to pay for this: 3.8 million people have lost their lives because China lied to the world – 600,000 of those 3.8 are Americans," McCarthy told Fox News on Sunday. "The first thing we should do is declassify the intelligence. That would show us that it came from Wuhan."

On May 26, the administration ordered the U.S. intelligence community to investigate the virus's origins. Biden gave the intelligence community 90 days to deliver a report on the origins of the virus.

China originally said the virus was transmitted to humans at an exotic animal market in Wuhan, the same city that is home to the Wuhan Virology Lab. 

McCarthy argued that the U.S. should stop supporting gain-of-function research in foreign nations. Gain-of-function- research is the process by which scientists alter an organism or disease to increase its infectivity, range, or other characteristics.

The California Republican said the National Institute of Health should no longer have the authority to give grants or sub-grants to countries like China.

McCarthy also argued the upcoming Winter Olympics should not be held in Beijing, saying, "If China lied to the rest of the world, why should the world reward them?"