Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said on Sunday that China should face consequences for “unleashing” COVID-19 on the world after the CIA concluded that COVID-19 most likely originated from a Chinese lab leak.
The CIA switched its view on the origin of COVID-19 on Saturday, with the change coming shortly after the agency’s new director, John Ratcliffe, was confirmed by the Senate. Cotton commended Ratcliffe for making the agency’s new view public but also said China should face some consequences.
“The important thing now is that we have to make China pay for unleashing this plague on the world, just like we have to make them pay for stealing our jobs and harming American workers and businesses by doing things like imposing tariffs on them, on strategically critical goods, or passing my legislation to repeal their permanent most favored nation status,” Cotton said in a Fox News interview.
Ratcliffe detailed the agency’s newly-held belief on Sunday, citing how it is important for the public to see the agency “get off the sidelines” and tell the truth about what the CIA’s intelligence is showing. He also stressed the need for the agency to both protect the public and regain its trust.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Cotton also addressed Trump’s recent decision to revoke the security detail for multiple former high-profile government officials, encouraging the president to “revisit” this decision due to the danger that Iran poses to these individuals. The Arkansas senator cited how Iran is “committed to vengeance” against all the former officials who have now lost their security and that it is better to be “safe than sorry.”
Among the officials who lost the security detail is former national security adviser John Bolton, who said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by Trump’s decision. He also suggested the president’s decision is part of a “retribution campaign” against his critics.
