President Donald J. Trump is preparing to finalize an executive order that will impose a sweeping ban on risky gain-of-function (GoF) research within the United States and abroad if it is funded by U.S. federal agencies. The move marks a significant step in reshaping federal oversight of dangerous biological experiments that many conservatives have long viewed as irresponsible and unaccountable.
The proposed ban, which is in its final stages of drafting, targets research that could enhance the transmissibility or lethality of pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. It is being designed to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are never again used to fund experiments that may pose global biosecurity threats — including those similar to the ones suspected of having links to the COVID-19 pandemic’s origins in Wuhan, China.
According to Trump allies, the executive order will also apply to federal grant recipients working with foreign labs, including those in adversarial nations. A key provision would prohibit government funds from supporting GoF studies unless stringent national security and safety standards are met, effectively ending controversial partnerships that flourished under prior administrations.
Trump’s push is widely seen as a direct rebuke of federal institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which were involved in past funding of overseas virology research. During the COVID-19 pandemic, reports emerged that U.S. funds had flowed through intermediaries like EcoHealth Alliance to the Wuhan Institute of Virology — sparking bipartisan outrage and leading to demands for accountability.
“President Trump is drawing a red line that the American people support: no more playing with fire in the name of ‘science’,” a Trump campaign adviser told The Daily Caller (source). “This ban puts national security, common sense, and American lives first.”
Conservatives have consistently raised the alarm about gain-of-function research, warning that such experimentation poses existential risks if mismanaged. Under the Biden administration, oversight of this research remained murky, despite public outcry and growing evidence of missteps. Trump’s plan is viewed by many in the Republican base as a needed corrective to years of reckless policy and opaque scientific bureaucracies.
According to AOL News (source), the executive order will cover multiple agencies and establish a new interagency task force tasked with reviewing any exception requests. This new mechanism would centralize authority under the White House, rather than relying on agencies that have previously shown little transparency.
In another critical element, the Trump order will require any federal contracts or grants to explicitly prohibit gain-of-function work unless a waiver is issued by a high-level national security panel. This places the decision-making in the hands of individuals with both scientific and geopolitical awareness — a departure from the more permissive approach seen during the Obama and Biden years.
Many Republican lawmakers have applauded Trump’s leadership on the issue. “Finally, someone is willing to stand up to the reckless science industrial complex,” said a senior GOP staffer familiar with the plan. “We should never again be complicit in creating threats to global health under the excuse of research.”
The move comes as public skepticism of the scientific establishment remains high. Polling shows that a majority of Americans, especially conservatives, distrust agencies like the CDC and NIH following the pandemic’s mismanagement. Trump’s crackdown on GoF funding could help restore confidence by reasserting control and transparency over high-stakes research.
Trump’s ban also echoes calls from Republican senators who have introduced legislation to halt all funding for foreign labs involved in gain-of-function research. However, the executive order provides a more immediate and enforceable solution, bypassing gridlock in a divided Congress.
For many in the America First movement, this action represents a fulfillment of one of Trump’s key promises: prioritizing the safety of American citizens over globalist science experiments. The conservative base sees this ban not just as a policy win, but as a moral stance against the unaccountable elite institutions that have long operated in the shadows.
Critics from the scientific community, including some vocal holdovers from the Biden-era bureaucracies, have already begun to push back, claiming the order could hinder legitimate research. But MAGA-aligned experts counter that public safety and national security must come first. As one pro-Trump virologist told The Daily Caller, “This is about ending the era of science without guardrails.”
Ella Ford