New Trump Administration Executive Order Places Restrictions on Pathogen Research

President Trump has signed an executive order “that would place new restrictions on gain-of-function pathogen research,” leading to 20 attorneys general filing a lawsuit against HHS. CIDRAP has the news.

A new framework for federally funded projects was also “set to take effect after an extensive review by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) and policy revisions by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) under the Biden administration.” The executive order says “Biden’s policy had insufficient oversight and directs the OSTP to revise or replace it with new regulations.”

Reportage from the New York Times also said “the executive order would bar funding for research projects that were deemed dangerous and were conducted in countries of concern. The policy also seeks to oversee research in the United States that isn’t supported by federal funds.” The Trump administration in 2017 lifted an Obama-era ban on funding to review research policies.

The new order being introduced has been said to contain “vague language” and be “more likely to slow important research than provide greater biosafety and biosecurity.” The order also disrupts progress on instating a policy to know what to study.

The lawsuit filed by 20 attorneys general claims that “major restructuring has cut life-saving programs and put extra burden on states to pay for health crises.” It also claims the cuts “stripped 25% of the HHS workforce, shuttered several agencies, and are impacting states’ ability to test for infectious diseases, respond to measles outbreaks, and track cancer for some groups.”