White House gutted pandemic preparation plans. Then came Ebola

Daniel covers the intersection of the health industry and the federal government. He reports on corporate influence in government, the health consequences of federal policies, and the politics of health care. Confidential tips can be sent on Signal at danielp.100.

WASHINGTON — In January 2025, with the Covid-19 pandemic still top of mind, the Biden administration left behind extensive plans for how the federal bureaucracy should work to stop future disease outbreaks.

The plans were hundreds of pages long and addressed dozens of specific issues, including the government response to diseases like Ebola and how to move Americans from outbreak zones back to the U.S. for care.

But weeks later, the Trump administration took Washington by storm — and began disregarding the plans, according to two former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials who worked in the Trump administration and four people familiar with the Biden-era plans.