Trump Administration Sets Aside Biden-Era Pandemic Preparedness Plans
The Trump administration began setting aside hundreds of pages of detailed federal plans for responding to future disease outbreaks, including Ebola protocols and medical evacuations, according to former CDC officials and others familiar with the documents.
StatThe Trump administration began disregarding hundreds of pages of pandemic preparedness plans left by the Biden administration weeks after taking office in January 2025. S. for medical care.
The plans were developed while the Covid-19 pandemic remained a central concern. Two former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials who served in the Trump administration and four people familiar with the Biden-era plans said the new administration set the documents aside.
During the early weeks of President Trump’s second term, many government employees involved in pandemic preparedness resigned and several key initiatives stopped.
The developments were reported by STAT correspondents Daniel Payne, who covers the intersection of the health industry and the federal government, and Chelsea Cirruzzo, who covers the Department of Health and Human Services. The story was published May 30, 2026.
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- STAT reported: The Biden administration prepared extensive plans for how the federal bureaucracy should respond to future disease outbreaks.
- STAT reported: The Trump administration began disregarding the Biden-era plans weeks after taking office.
- STAT reported: The plans were left behind when the Biden administration ended in January 2025.
- STAT reported: The Biden-era plans addressed dozens of specific issues including government response to diseases like Ebola.
- STAT reported: The Biden-era plans were hundreds of pages long.
- STAT reported: The Biden-era plans addressed how to move Americans from outbreak zones back to the U.S. for care.
- STAT reported: The information about the Biden plans and the Trump administration disregarding them was reported by two former CDC officials who worked in the Trump administration and four people familiar with the Biden-era plans.
- STAT reported: Many government employees crucial to pandemic preparedness resigned during the early days of President Trump’s second term.
- STAT reported: Key initiatives for pandemic preparedness ceased during the early days of President Trump’s second term.
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