CLOVIS, Calif. – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was in Clovis on Thursday to celebrate the opening of a new district office — a promise he made during his most recent campaign.
He took questions from reporters, sounding off on several local issues, including making remarks about the recent discovery of an illegal lab in Reedley.
The lab contained human medical waste, hundreds of inhumanely treated mice and a number of infectious diseases, including malaria, HIV and Covid-19. According to health officials, workers at the facility were reportedly developing pregnancy and Covid-19 tests.
The operation was traced to Universal Meditech Inc., a research and development company that was previously based in Fresno. Inspections and investigations into the lab show the company was taken over by Prestige BioTech Inc.
Officials were investigating the lab’s discovery in Reedley since at least December of last year, and have struggled to maintain communication with the owners of the company who have indicated the company was based in China. Though, addresses provided could not be confirmed by the health department.
That information has fueled speculation from politicians. McCarthy, during his visit, criticized China’s influence in America.
“My concern is to get to the bottom of what happened here but to also look at where this is happening in other parts of this country as well,” McCarthy said. “I’m going to take this back to the Select Committee on China in dealing with this as well and working with the FBI.”
When asked about Tulare Lake in Kings County — which resurged for the first time in decades from an unseasonably wet winter — he advocated for storing the water and returning the land to agricultural use.
McCarthy’s press conference took place around the same time former president Donald Trump was indicted for the third time in Washington, D.C. — this time over the Jan. 6 insurrection.
When asked his thoughts, McCarthy said he didn’t have the details before him but believed the charges to be “totally political.”
