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John Ratcliffe, the newly confirmed director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), laid out his priorities in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on Thursday.

Ratcliffe, sworn in by Vice President J.D. Vance, emphasized the need to reform the agency, depoliticize its operations, and confront the geopolitical threats posed by China.

Ratcliffe made it clear that one of his first actions as CIA director will be addressing the agency’s lack of a formal assessment on the origins of COVID-19.

The virus, which has claimed over a million American lives, has been at the center of a heated debate over whether it originated naturally or leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

“I’ve been on record as you know in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictate that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Ratcliffe said.

“But the CIA has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly. So I’m going to focus on that and look at the intelligence and make sure that the public is aware that the agency is going to get off the sidelines.”

The CIA has faced criticism in recent years, with allegations that analysts were bribed to dismiss the lab leak theory.

While the lab leak hypothesis has gained significant traction, the agency has yet to take an official stance, a position Ratcliffe intends to change.

Ratcliffe highlighted China as the top foreign threat to U.S. national security and vowed to provide President Donald Trump with the intelligence needed to counter Chinese aggression.

“As President Trump deals with President Xi [Jinping], he needs to be armed with the very best intelligence,” Ratcliffe said.

“If they caused or contributed to the death of a million Americans, the president needs to be armed with that.”

Ratcliffe’s stance on China is consistent with his tenure as Director of National Intelligence (DNI), during which he warned of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence and nefarious activities.

He co-authored a 2023 op-ed with former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Cliff Sims, detailing the growing threat posed by China.

The CIA director criticized the intelligence community for its slow response to the shifting global landscape, noting that much of the establishment remains focused on Russia, despite China emerging as the United States’ primary geopolitical adversary.

Ratcliffe argued that the U.S. intelligence and foreign policy establishment has failed to adapt to the realities of the 21st century, where China’s economic and technological advancements present a greater challenge than Russia.

“You have people who have been at the different intelligence agencies for so long and focused on the Russia threat — and, as you said, legitimately because [Vladimir] Putin is a bad guy and a regime with a huge nuclear stockpile that we need to talk about — but the Intelligence Community has been slow to adjust to the fact that China is the primary geopolitical threat we face,” Ratcliffe explained.

He cited the CCP’s influence in Washington, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood as factors that have hindered the U.S. response.

“From Washington, D.C., to Wall Street to Silicon Valley to Hollywood, there has been a desire to keep China from being labeled a bad guy because a lot of people make a lot of money from China and in China,” he said.

Ratcliffe also took aim at former CIA Director John Brennan, accusing him of steering the agency in the wrong direction during the Obama administration.

Ratcliffe’s goal, he said, is to return the CIA to its core mission of protecting U.S. national security and ensuring that intelligence is free from political interference.

As Ratcliffe takes the helm, he has signaled a commitment to tackling the major challenges posed by China, restoring accountability within the CIA, and ensuring that the agency is equipped to address the complex threats of the modern era.

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