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3w ago

Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Federal Funding for Gain-of-Function Research Abroad

The order halts U.S. funding for high-risk virology experiments in countries with insufficient oversight and directs new biosecurity standards domestically.

ANYANG, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 - Volunteers input test tube information for nucleic acid collection in a gas film laboratory for COVID-19 prevention and control in Anyang, Henan Province, China, Sept 5, 2022. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks as President Donald Trump (not pictured) signs executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump announces the NFL draft will be held in Washington, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis
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Overview

  • President Trump signed an executive order on May 5, 2025, ending federal funding for gain-of-function research in countries like China and Iran, citing insufficient oversight.
  • The White House reaffirmed its position that a lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The order also pauses domestic gain-of-function projects until new safety protocols are developed by the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the national security adviser.
  • The executive order aims to prevent future lab-related biosecurity incidents while ensuring productive research critical to U.S. public health and global leadership continues.
  • Past U.S. funding for high-risk research, including over $1.4 million to the Wuhan Institute of Virology from 2014 to 2021, has faced renewed scrutiny under the new policy.