Democrats, GOP lay out competing findings in COVID reports 

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held its final meeting on Wednesday and while Republicans signaled a feeling of accomplishment, Democrats maintained their belief that not enough was done in the subcommittee's two years.

Leading up to the markup hearing on Wednesday, both Republicans and Democrats on the subcommittee released their final reports.

Republicans listed numerous findings, including what they believe to be the likely origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Democrats pushed back on many of the claims laid out in the GOP report, arguing the panel's two years of investigation had been "wasted on political stunts."

Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) gave the origins of COVID-19, which he believes to have likely come from a lab leak tied to Wuhan, China, a significant portion of his final remarks on Wednesday. He submitted numerous articles for the record to support his belief in the theory, leaving the rest of the 520-page report to speak for itself.

"The report is the culmination of years of work and dedication," Wenstrup said. "The Select subcommittee held bad actors accountable drove actual change in our public health agencies and provided a roadmap for what to do and what not to do."

Ranking Member Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) said in his final remarks that it was "clear from our two final reports that as the select subcommittee concludes, we are leaving with different impressions of what we did or did not find."

"Oftentimes, in politics and partisan war, there's a sense of forgetfulness of what people have faced and what truly is important for them," Ruiz said, while lamenting that he didn't believe enough had been done to help prepare for and potentially prevent future pandemics by the panel.

"But as I said at our final hearing last month, just because we haven't yet come together to tackle these serious challenges doesn't mean we can't," he added.

The subcommittee is set to dissolve 30 days after the final report is filed.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told the New York Post that the full committee will "continue pursuing records and answers that have so far been withheld from its investigations.”