President Trump halts federal funding for dangerous gain-of-function research that likely sparked the COVID-19 pandemic, declaring, “It’s a big deal” that could prevent future global catastrophes.
Key Takeaways
- President Trump’s Executive Order bans federal funding for gain-of-function research in countries with inadequate biosafety standards, particularly China and Iran.
- The order directly addresses the likely origin of COVID-19 from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where U.S. funds supported risky bat coronavirus experiments.
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warns that countries like China, Russia, and Iran are conducting gain-of-function research with potential military applications.
- The Executive Order creates a 120-day pause on certain research in the U.S. while implementing stronger oversight, enforcement, and reporting mechanisms.
- Scientific experts including Dr. Jay Bhattacharya support the ban, noting gain-of-function research increases pandemic risks without delivering positive outcomes.
Ending Dangerous Research that Sparked a Pandemic
President Donald Trump has signed a landmark Executive Order prohibiting federal funding for gain-of-function research in nations with questionable biosafety standards. The decisive action targets the type of research many believe led to the COVID-19 pandemic after a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China. The order specifically halts U.S. funding for experiments that enhance pathogens’ transmissibility or virulence in countries like China and Iran, addressing a critical national security vulnerability that previous administrations failed to confront.
“It’s a big deal. It could have been that we wouldn’t have had the problem [with COVID-19] had we done this,” said President Trump.
🚨🇺🇸 TRUMP EXEC ORDER TO BAN WUHAN-STYLE VIRUS EXPERIMENTS IN U.S.
In his latest move to address pandemic origins, Trump is set to halt federal funding for "gain-of-function" virus research – the same controversial experiments some link to COVID's emergence from Wuhan.
His NIH… https://t.co/4jY31J50DU pic.twitter.com/hG27Gf3lsD
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 23, 2025
Following the Money to Wuhan
The Executive Order directly confronts uncomfortable truths about U.S. involvement in risky research overseas. Over $1.4 million in American taxpayer grants were channeled through EcoHealth Alliance to the Wuhan Institute of Virology between 2014 and 2021, funding precisely the type of bat coronavirus research that likely spawned the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration’s policies allowed this dangerous research to continue with woefully inadequate oversight, leaving Americans vulnerable to catastrophic biosecurity risks while enriching foreign laboratories with questionable safety records.
“President Trump has long theorized that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and has consistently pushed for transparency in investigating its origins,” according to a statement from the White House.
The Executive Order implements a strategic pause on certain high-risk research in the United States for 120 days while directing the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Advisor to develop more robust biosafety protocols. This balanced approach allows beneficial research to continue while eliminating reckless practices that directly threaten public health and national security. Trump’s policy focuses on strengthening America’s biotechnology leadership while preventing dangerous pathogens from being engineered in laboratories with military applications.
Expert Support for Trump’s Bold Action
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been instrumental in designing the new policy, bringing critical expertise to biological research oversight. Kennedy noted that countries like China, Russia, and Iran are actively conducting gain-of-function research with military intentions, highlighting the dual security and health concerns that necessitated Trump’s action. The policy also responds to evidence that gain-of-function research has delivered no meaningful benefits throughout its controversial history while repeatedly creating opportunities for catastrophic accidents.
“The conduct of this research does not protect us against pandemics, as some people might say,” explained Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.
White House Secretary Will Scharf emphasized the direct connection between this research and the devastating global pandemic, stating, “Many people believe that gain-of-function research was one of the key causes of the COVID pandemic that struck us in the last decade,” according to LAIST. The order includes robust enforcement and reporting mechanisms that will prevent policy evasion, addressing critical flaws in previous biosecurity frameworks that allowed dangerous research to continue through regulatory loopholes and inadequate transparency.
While some scientists argue the restrictions could hinder pandemic preparedness research, biologist Richard Ebright countered that the risks far outweigh any theoretical benefits: “If one of these pathogens is released accidentally or if they are released deliberately, they can cause pandemics,” as reported by LAIST. Trump’s policy represents a major victory for Americans concerned about biosecurity and responsible science, ending a dangerous era of taxpayer funding for viral experiments that put global health at risk.
