WASHINGTON — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has launched an investigation into more than 120 foreign biological laboratories funded by American taxpayers, including more than 40 facilities located in Ukraine, according to statements released Monday by her office.
The review is part of a broader Trump administration push to examine overseas “gain-of-function” research and assess whether dangerous pathogen research funded through U.S. agencies poses security, health, or oversight concerns.
Gabbard said intelligence officials are now working to identify where the laboratories are located, what pathogens they contain, and what type of research has been conducted using U.S. funding.
“The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have,” Gabbard said in comments first reported by the New York Post. “We are working to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain and what research is being conducted.”
Officials said the laboratories span more than 30 countries and include facilities previously supported through the Pentagon’s Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which was originally created after the Cold War to help secure and dismantle weapons-of-mass-destruction infrastructure in former Soviet regions.
According to administration officials, more than 40 of the facilities under review are located in Ukraine and are considered vulnerable because of the ongoing war with Russia.
The investigation follows President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting federal support for gain-of-function research in countries viewed as lacking proper oversight protections.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused the previous administration of hiding information about overseas biological research programs funded with taxpayer dollars.
“The prior administration bankrolled dangerous gain-of-function research and foreign biolabs with American tax dollars, then deliberately hid it from the American people,” Hegseth said in a statement released alongside the investigation announcement.
The issue of U.S.-supported biological laboratories in Ukraine has remained politically explosive since Russia’s 2022 invasion. U.S. officials have acknowledged supporting public health and biosecurity laboratories in Ukraine, but American officials and international organizations have repeatedly denied claims that Ukraine operated U.S.-run biological weapons programs.
Back in 2022, then-Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland testified before Congress that Ukraine possessed “biological research facilities” that raised concerns about falling into Russian hands during the war.
Critics of the programs argue there has been insufficient public transparency involving federal grants, subcontractors, and overseas pathogen research tied to U.S. agencies. Supporters of the laboratories say the work focuses on disease prevention, biosecurity, and monitoring dangerous outbreaks — not biological weapons development.
The intelligence review remains ongoing.