Just days before stepping down as director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard released an investigation that she said identified a U.S.-funded network of more than 120 biological research laboratories across more than 30 countries.
In a statement released June 12, Gabbard said evidence gathered by her office showed the facilities received U.S. funding and some are currently conducting research involving biological pathogens.
"The information surrounding the existence, history, locations and funding of these U.S.-funded biolabs has been intentionally covered up by powerful people, falsely claiming that they do not exist and accusing anyone who says otherwise of being foreign assets and traitors to America," Gabbard said.
She said many of the laboratories are currently engaged in, or have previously conducted, research involving hazardous and highly contagious pathogens. In some cases, she said, the work included gain-of-function research conducted with limited public visibility or oversight, a practice that involves modifying organisms to give them new or enhanced characteristics.
Gabbard also said some of the laboratories are located in Ukraine and could face security risks because of the ongoing war with Russia.
"For example, the Intelligence Community previously warned that a U.S.-funded biolab in Ukraine likely housed dangerous pathogens and remained vulnerable to longstanding threats of Russian attack, seizure or damage," the statement said.
As reported by RFE/RL, a U.S.-funded news organization, it was not immediately clear why Gabbard released the information or whether the report contained any new revelations. The report was released days before Gabbard is scheduled to leave her post at the end of June.
The Trump administration has spent months reviewing U.S.-funded biological research programs after moving to halt federal funding for gain-of-function research, RFE/RL reported.
The administration has argued that some U.S.-funded laboratories have conducted research involving "hazardous and highly contagious pathogens" and that such work should not remain "unrestricted."
In May 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending federal funding for gain-of-function research worldwide.
Gabbard is expected to leave the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at the end of June after announcing her resignation last month, citing her husband's cancer diagnosis.
"Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026," she wrote in a letter addressed to Trump. "My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle."
Gabbard will be the latest Cabinet-level official to leave the administration, following the departures of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
