Washington (CNN) A number of top officials in the Trump administration have pushed US intelligence agencies looking into the origin of the novel coronavirus to "hunt for evidence" linking the virus to a Chinese laboratory, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The Times, which noted that "intelligence agencies remain skeptical that conclusive evidence of a link to a lab can be found," reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and Anthony Ruggiero, an official with the National Security Council, are among those pushing for the agencies to find a link.

Pompeo, the newspaper said, has "taken the lead" in pushing for more information about the potential connection, while Pottinger "has pressed intelligence agencies off and on since January to gather information that might support any origin theory linked to a lab" and Ruggiero "expressed frustration" during a call that same month that the CIA was unable to get behind any theory of the virus' origin.

The Times said that "some intelligence analysts are concerned that the pressure from administration officials will distort assessments about the virus and that they could be used as a political weapon" against China, which President Donald Trump has sought to place blame on for the virus that has so far claimed the lives of at least 227,000 people worldwide.

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell's office said in a statement Thursday that the intelligence community will "continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."

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