Tulsi Gabbard Orders Probe into 120 US-Funded Biolabs, Including Dozens in Ukraine

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has launched an investigation into more than 120 biological laboratories overseas that have received US taxpayer funding for decades. The announcement came Monday in an interview with the New York Post.

Gabbard stated that her team will identify where these labs are located, what pathogens they contain, and what research is being conducted. The goal, she said, is to end dangerous gain-of-function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and the world. She argued that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the catastrophic global impact that research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have. Gabbard further claimed that politicians, so-called health professionals including Dr. Anthony Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration's national security team lied to the American people about the existence of these US-funded and supported biolabs and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth.

According to officials within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the laboratories under review are spread across more than 30 countries. More than 40 of the facilities being reviewed are located in Ukraine. Intelligence officials cited concerns that laboratories in active conflict zones could face risks of compromise or disruption due to the war in the country.

Many of the labs reportedly received support through a Pentagon program originally established after the Cold War to secure or dismantle weapons-related materials and prevent the spread of biological and chemical threats. Arguments have been made that lax oversight of research funding – often flowing through federal agencies to grantees and subawardees – creates a quagmire that prevents Americans from knowing whether potentially dangerous experiments are being conducted on their dime without their consent. ODNI officials stated that clinical trials being conducted at the biolabs are now raising significant ethical, financial, and security concerns.

In May 2024, the National Institute of Health's Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak admitted to Congress that tax dollars funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, making viruses 10,000 times more infectious. Federal agencies previously acknowledged that American-funded coronavirus experiments conducted there violated some grant reporting requirements.

Past comments by Dr. Anthony Fauci show him defending gain-of-function research. Fauci argued that the scientific benefits of understanding dangerous pathogens could outweigh the risks, though he also acknowledged the possibility of accidents or misuse. During congressional testimony in March 2022, then-Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland acknowledged that Ukraine possessed biological research facilities and said the United States was concerned Russian forces might gain access to them. That testimony became a focal point in debates over whether US-supported laboratories existed in the country and what role they served.

The Biden administration previously released a statement insisting that the United States does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine. The current investigation's framing notes that the question is not surrounding ownership of the labs but rather the origin of funding allowing them to continue operations. Saying the United States does not own or operate such facilities is not a denial that funding was being delivered through agencies, grantees, and subawardees of the US government.

The renewed scrutiny reflects broader political debates in Washington surrounding gain-of-function research, which involves altering pathogens in ways that may increase transmissibility or virulence for scientific study. Supporters of the work argue that it can help scientists prepare for future pandemics and develop vaccines or treatments. Critics contend that such experiments carry significant biosafety risks if pathogens escape laboratory containment.

The investigation also arrives amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to reshape intelligence and national security policy under Gabbard's leadership. Since becoming Director of National Intelligence in 2025, Gabbard has emphasized transparency, intelligence reform, and what she describes as restoring public trust in government agencies.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised the review and accused prior officials of failing to adequately disclose the scope of foreign laboratory funding. Hegseth stated that the prior administration bankrolled dangerous gain-of-function research and foreign biolabs with American tax dollars, then deliberately hid it from the American people. He added that the declassification of this discovery shows how little oversight this work had, and that under President Trump's leadership, DNI Gabbard and the entire cabinet are righting these historic wrongs and delivering justice for warfighters and those they protect. He concluded that the era of lies and betrayal is over.

Supporters of the inquiry argue that greater oversight is necessary because federal funding for overseas biological research has expanded significantly over the last two decades. The investigation is currently ongoing, and no timeline for its completion has been announced.

Written by Sandy van Dongen