Policies & Analysis

This order seeks to limit "gain-of-function research," which involves experimenting with viruses and other pathogens to discover how they can become more harmful or transmissible. It blocks U.S. funding for this type of research in many countries abroad and pauses domestic U.S.-funded research while new policies are developed. The order also seeks to limit non-federally funded gain-of-function research in the United States and increases Trump administration interference with independent scientific research. While careful oversight of gain-of-function research is important to ensure safety, many scientists worry that this outright ban on funding this work abroad and an indefinite pause on this work in the United States will make us less prepared to prevent or respond to future pandemics. This order also builds on the Trump-Vance administration's attacks on science and independent research, and builds on some officials' claims that the COVID-19 virus was the result of a lab error.