President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt federal funding for a type of biomedical research in China and Iran, aiming to prevent development of another pandemic like COVID-19. Trump and some federal agencies have long theorized that the pandemic began at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday afternoon to halt federal funding for risky virus research that Republicans argue may have been the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order aims to stop scientists from conducting “gain-of-function” research with federal funding.

President Donald Trump has halted biological research funding to adversaries such as China and Iran because of concerns COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab. His executive order dealing with a type of biomedical research comes at a time of heightened tensions with China over tariffs.