Democrat Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota has reportedly been a longtime supporter of the Hormel Institute, a medical research facility in his state that has frequently collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China. The WIV has gained attention as the focal point of theories suggesting a laboratory origin of COVID-19.

Walz has engaged with the Hormel Institute for over ten years, participating in tours and meetings. According to documents examined by the Washington Examiner, the institute has acknowledged Walz for helping secure several million dollars in funding.

Walz’s connections to China have come under increased scrutiny after his selection as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate for the 2024 election. Amidst this attention, Walz is now the subject of a congressional investigation concerning his extensive travel to China, which reportedly totals around 30 visits. Additionally, the Hormel Institute, known for its collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has raised eyebrows. This includes a joint study on COVID-19 conducted in 2020 and ongoing projects with the Wuhan lab as recently as this year.

The Washington Examiner reported:

News of the ties between the Walz-allied research center and the WIV comes as the Democratic vice presidential nominee faces a congressional investigation over his “extensive” connections to China. This year, the U.S. government halted federal funding to a nonprofit group that worked with the lab in Wuhan — where the FBI has said COVID-19 likely emerged. Walz has reportedly traveled 30 times to China, including for his honeymoon, and he said in 2016 that he does not “fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship” with the United States.

“For 80+ years, the Hormel Institute has helped pave the way for Minnesota to lead in biomedical innovation,” Walz said in April of the Minnesota group, which Fox News previously reported is linked to a Chinese military-backed company called Beijing Genomics Institute. “It was great to stop by their facilities yesterday in Austin to see that work in action.”

The Hormel Institute is based in Austin, Minnesota. In Walz’s telling, the organization “fits with where we see ourselves as a state [in the future] … a future around … green energy, sustainable agriculture, and the ability to feed a very hungry world … and the ability to be one of the nation’s designated biotech hubs,” according to a Hormel Institute press release.

As a congressman, Walz helped secure over $2 million for the Hormel Institute’s technology acquisitions and was a “strong advocate for The Hormel Institute, including by supporting its major expansions,” the Minnesota-based group said in April of this year. Moreover, in 2008, Walz reportedly pushed for a $5 million federal earmark for the University of Minnesota-housed group and has visited the Hormel Institute to discuss ways to increase its federal funding.

The collaboration between the Hormel Institute and the WIV has expanded to include a variety of projects. Notably, in 2020, they partnered for a study on COVID-19, and their cooperative efforts have continued into this year with research on structural biology.

Brian Cavanaugh, who previously served on the White House National Security Council, expressed his reservations about U.S. collaborations with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). “The Wuhan Institute of Virology has direct ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army,” Cavanaugh stated in an interview with the Washington Examiner. He further warned the Washington Examiner, “The Hormel Institute is helping a foreign adversary.”

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