As the Biden Administration prepares to hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump, concerns are mounting about the future of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR). The office, located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the West Wing, has played a critical role in coordinating federal responses to biological threats, including the recent spread of bird flu.
By Inauguration Day on Monday, more than half of OPPR’s 18-person staff will leave, including director Paul Friedrichs and deputy director Nikki Romanik, both political appointees. Several career staffers assigned to the office on temporary duty will also return to their home agencies. These departures leave uncertainty about how the Trump Administration will manage pandemic preparedness, especially with key positions still unfilled.
During his previous term, Trump disbanded a similar pandemic office, a move widely criticized during the chaotic early response to COVID-19 in 2020. Biden reinstated the office as his first executive order in 2021, and Congress subsequently expanded its resources and authority. However, Trump has indicated he may again dismantle the office, referring to it as a “way of giving out pork.”
The OPPR, which cost approximately $2 million to operate last year, has been instrumental in addressing the spread of avian flu, which recently jumped from livestock to humans. While human-to-human transmission has not been observed, at least 66 cases have been reported in the U.S., with one fatality in Louisiana. The office coordinated a federal response involving agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Agriculture, monitoring outbreaks, reimbursing farmers for culling infected livestock, and expanding dairy surveillance to detect early signs of infection.
Friedrichs, the outgoing OPPR director, highlighted the office’s role in protecting public health and the food supply. “While CDC reports that the risk to the general public is low, keeping communities healthy, safe, and informed remains a top and urgent priority,” he said.
In addition to its domestic efforts, the OPPR has worked globally to address outbreaks of diseases such as Marburg virus and mpox. It also laid the groundwork for vaccine development, stockpiling millions of doses of H5N1 flu vaccines and collaborating with Moderna on an mRNA vaccine to address potential mutations of the bird flu virus.
Despite its achievements, the office’s future remains uncertain under the Trump Administration. While Congress has authorized its continuation, Trump could limit its effectiveness by reducing funding or leaving key leadership roles vacant. Health experts warn that neglecting pandemic preparedness could leave the U.S. vulnerable to emerging biological threats.
“The outbreak only highlights the urgency for having an office like this,” said an anonymous pandemic expert familiar with OPPR’s efforts. White House spokesperson Kelly Skully emphasized that preparing for biological threats “should remain a priority for the health and safety of the American people.”
