Overview
- Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on June 12 released declassified records she says show more than 120 U.S.‑funded biological laboratories in over 30 countries and directed the Intelligence Community to step up collection and oversight.
- ODNI asserted many of the cited labs handled “especially dangerous” pathogens and that some facilities had engaged in gain‑of‑function research, a controversial practice that modifies organisms to study how they might become more transmissible or harmful.
- The documents identify dozens of labs in Ukraine, with ODNI saying earlier intelligence warned at least one U.S.‑funded facility there likely housed hazardous pathogens and could be vulnerable to attack, seizure, or accidental compromise during the war.
- Experts and officials are divided: some view the release as increased transparency and a prompt for stronger safeguards, while others say many partnerships were public Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts focused on securing Soviet‑era pathogen stocks and do not prove illicit work.
- The disclosures come after President Trump’s May 25, 2025 executive order banning federal funding for overseas gain‑of‑function research and are likely to trigger interagency reviews, congressional oversight and further intelligence inquiries into lab safety, funding and oversight practices.