President Donald Trump signed a new executive order banning all federal funding for gain-of-function research overseas. The order blocks all current and future funding linked to dangerous virus experiments in countries like China and Iran. 

The move comes after years of debate over whether COVID-19 began from a lab leak in Wuhan. U.S. intelligence agencies such as the FBI and CIA say a lab accident is the most likely cause of the pandemic. Trump's order calls for the National Institutes of Health and other bodies to flag any research that threatens public health or national security.

Trump Targets Virus Research Linked To Wuhan Lab

Trump said the leak may have started when a scientist went out for lunch with someone and unknowingly spread the virus. 

“I’ve never changed that opinion, so it can leak out innocently, stupidly and incompetently, but innocently and half destroy the world,” he said. 

The ban pauses all research involving pathogens until a new policy is created. NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said the COVID pandemic likely came from this kind of risky research. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the decision historic and praised Trump’s bold step. He blamed years of unregulated lab work for turning science into a danger. 

Trump’s team criticized the Biden administration for allowing such studies. The Pentagon also found millions in U.S. funds went to foreign virus studies. Now those grants will stop. Critics of gain-of-function research say it brings no benefit and only raises the risk of another outbreak. Trump believes this order will protect Americans and stop another pandemic from happening again.