Sen. Tom Cotton took a dig at the liberal media for its early dismissal of he lab-leak hypothesis after the CIA's newly released assessment supporting the theory.

The Central Intelligence Agency previously said that two explanations were plausible, a lab leak or a natural source for the virus. But under new agency director John Ratcliffe, the CIA has changed its view, which is now in line with that of the Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Langley joins the FBI and Energy Department in agreeing that a lab leak is the most likely source of the pandemic.

The Central Intelligence Agency with a "low confidence" has changed its stance and concluded that it's likely the COVI-19 virus was leaked from a Chinese lab before it became a global pandemic five years ago.

Several studies have said the virus originated naturally — but U.S. intelligence changed its assessment over the weekend.

China on Monday dismissed the lab leak theory on COVID-19 origins proposed by the CIA, calling it baseless and emphasizing the need for scientific investigation, state media reported.

Newly-confirmed CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News the decision to release a Biden-era analysis favoring the COVID-19 lab leak theory is a step toward transparency.

The CIA has changed its assessment on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, now favoring the lab leak theory. But some worry this could be an indication of politicization.

Donald Trump is huddling with House Republicans at a GOP retreat on Monday. Keep up with live updates from the USA TODAY Network.

The news comes after the CIA announced over the weekend that COVID-19 most likely originated from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2020.

Wall Street started the week in a cold sweat thanks to DeepSeek, an obscure Chinese A.I. lab that just dropped a bombshell: a lightning-fast, budget-friendly large language model that’s shaking Silicon Valley to its core.