Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said her office is reviewing more than 120 biological laboratories across more than 30 countries that have received U.S. funding, part of a broader effort tied to President Trump’s executive order banning federal support for gain-of-function research abroad.
Gabbard said the intelligence community is working to identify the pathogens housed at the labs and determine what research is being conducted, arguing the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the dangers tied to experiments involving potentially dangerous viruses. She also accused former Biden administration officials and Dr. Anthony Fauci of misleading the public about U.S.-funded and supported overseas biolab activity.
ODNI officials said more than 40 of the labs under review are located in Ukraine and may face security risks due to the ongoing war with Russia. Several facilities reportedly received support through the Pentagon’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which was created after the Cold War to secure weapons-related materials and study pathogens aimed at preventing future outbreaks.
Officials pointed to Biden administration denials regarding U.S.-linked biolabs in Ukraine after former State Department official Victoria Nuland acknowledged during congressional testimony that biological research facilities existed in the country. According to ODNI officials, those denials were part of an “Information Resilience” strategy intended to “shape the public narrative” and “mitigate and counter foreign malign influence” while downplaying U.S. ties to the research.
