New U.S. Policy Seeks to Restrict High-Risk, Gain-of-Function Biology Research

New U.S. Policy Seeks to Restrict High-Risk, Gain-of-Function Biology Research

The grilling of former White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has brought a wide range of troubling issues related to the pandemic to light.

Fauci and several researchers associated with him are linked to risky gain-of-function coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (Fauci mainly as a funder and an obfuscator of the origins of COVID).

As a reminder, I reported on the work of British Professor Angus Dalgleish and Norwegian scientist Dr. Birger Sørensen who looked at the “novel coronavirus” and asserted that SARS‑CoV‑2 was bioengineered by Chinese scientists using gain‑of‑function methods on a bat coronavirus backbone and an added spike protein, including a four–amino‑acid motif they argued is unlikely to arise naturally.

In the wake of ongoing revelations from Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and the US Senate hearing, it is encouraging to see that the Trump administration is beginning to address significant biosecurity lapses. This week, the State Department and HHS rolled out a sweeping new policy that finally aims to stop dangerous gain-of-function research, cutting off federal dollars for the kind of pathogen-enhancing lab work that led to the pandemic lockdown disaster.

The new “United States Government Policy for Stopping High-Risk Life Sciences Research” bans federal funding for dangerous gain-of-function research and tightens oversight of other high-risk life sciences work, both domestically and abroad. The policy also restricts U.S. funding for research conducted in countries lacking adequate biosafety, biosecurity, and oversight standards, framing this as an “America First” measure to protect national security and public health.

An America First approach to scientific research means ensuring that taxpayer dollars are never used to support dangerous gain-of-function research or proliferate any other bio risks — whether conducted in the United States or abroad.

The new policy establishes a transparent, accountable framework that prohibits federal support for dangerous gain-of-function research, strengthens oversight of other high-risk life sciences research, and restricts funding for research conducted in countries that lack appropriate safety, security, and oversight standards.

The release of the United States Government Policy for Stopping High-Risk Life Sciences Research fulfills President Trump’s commitment to ensure that federally supported life sciences research serves the interests of the American people.

This policy stops dangerous… pic.twitter.com/oo1fjy8eZl

— HHS (@HHSGov) July 28, 2026

COVID may not be the only pandemic stemming from “gain-of-function” research, either. The H5N1 bird flu strain, which is causing the “bird flu” (aka HPAI – Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza), may have originated from gain-of-function research and specifically points to possible links with the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Georgia and Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands.  Poultry, cattle, and humans have all been plagued by this pathogen.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the National Institutes of Health Director, was a strong advocate for sensible COVID response policies and was attacked by Fauci and the narrative media. Bhattacharya hails this new framework that, for the first time, explicitly bans federally supported dangerous gain-of-function research and other high‑risk life sciences work that could threaten public health and national security.

Bhattacharya also calls for serious consideration by scientists of the risks vs. rewards of their research projects.

The new U.S. Government-wide policy represents a paradigm shift in federal oversight by adopting a comprehensive, risk-based framework supported by strong enforcement, accountability, and transparency measures. In addition to the ban on federal support for dangerous gain-of-function research, the policy introduces enhanced review and reporting requirements for all life sciences research, including independent, top-down assessments for projects that may increase the harmful consequences of biological agents.

…All researchers and institutions engaged in life sciences work should review this critical policy in detail. NIH will collaborate closely with interagency partners and the biomedical research community to support robust implementation.

Finally, it is essential that all scientists continue to foster a culture of thoughtful evaluation of both the benefits and risks of every experiment — whether or not it meets a high-risk classification. Even with strong safeguards, work involving biological agents can carry inherent risk, and it is our collective responsibility to prevent the most dangerous research while ensuring that NIH-supported science continues to protect and improve the health and well-being of the American public.

Under the Trump Administration, NIH will end dangerous Gain-of-Function research.@NIHDirector_Jay makes it clear that Americans won’t fund research that risks American's health or security, either here or abroad. pic.twitter.com/Z70wlc8gss

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 29, 2026

It is also important to note the emphasis on restrictions impacting foreign countries. As she was exiting her role as the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard’s released declassified intelligence slides showing long‑standing U.S. government funding for more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries, including over 40 Cooperative Threat Reduction–supported labs in Ukraine that store Soviet‑era and “especially dangerous” pathogens such as anthrax, Ebola, plague, MERS, and SARS.

While all of the information was troubling, just imagine the above viruses with some “gain-of-function” enhancements…paired with scientists who have egos big enough to think they can safely handle their Frankenviruses.

If Americans want to avoid another lab-driven catastrophe, they must stay engaged, demand transparency, and insist that “America First” applies not just to trade and borders, but to every petri dish, test tube, and biolab that their dollars support.

Ideally, those responsible for the COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdown disaster would face serious consequences. In the meantime, preventing its reoccurrence through transparency and review and allowing serious, data-based challenges to be voiced and published will help prevent another Fauci-like science tyrant from dominating our nation again.

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