{"id":1760,"date":"2026-07-27T09:11:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T09:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1760"},"modified":"2026-07-27T09:11:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T09:11:51","slug":"the-white-house-is-back-in-the-pandemic-preparedness-game-barely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1760","title":{"rendered":"The White House Is Back in the Pandemic Preparedness Game. Barely."},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Since dismantling the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, or OPPR, the Trump administration has been tested by a <span><u>record-breaking<\/u><\/span> measles outbreak, a cruise-ship hantavirus outbreak, an ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a lettuce-dwelling parasite that sickened thousands.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1754\">Some Pennsylvania Democrats Are Skeptical of Washington\u2019s Sway<\/a><\/p><p>The White House recently staffed the office, which at its peak in 2024 had 15 employees, with just one health official, along with a second biosecurity specialist at the National Security Council. Former government health officials say that is far from where the office needs to be to effectively combat dangerous pathogens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is a start, but it is not nearly enough,\u201d said a former White House official familiar with the health security functions of the National Security Council and OPPR, who requested anonymity to speak freely about their former employer.<\/p><p>\u201cYou can\u2019t run an Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy as an army of one,\u201d they continued.<\/p>\n<section>\n<div>\n<h2>\n<span>Trending<\/span>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin\" class=\"wp-image-1747\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9589f7171cc79dcb83bde7308da6885a-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9589f7171cc79dcb83bde7308da6885a-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9589f7171cc79dcb83bde7308da6885a-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9589f7171cc79dcb83bde7308da6885a.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      The DNC Put Up Its Headquarters as Collateral to Obtain Its Massive Loan\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Josh Shapiro\" class=\"wp-image-1383\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8b8772f4fad65db206fa28fca5bdd435-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8b8772f4fad65db206fa28fca5bdd435-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8b8772f4fad65db206fa28fca5bdd435-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8b8772f4fad65db206fa28fca5bdd435.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Is <u>Josh Shapiro<\/u> Actually Good at Governing?\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Shapiro Brooks Jeffries\" class=\"wp-image-1758\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/238bdf0acd09554ce4b5ca3218235099-768x576.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/238bdf0acd09554ce4b5ca3218235099-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/238bdf0acd09554ce4b5ca3218235099-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/238bdf0acd09554ce4b5ca3218235099.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Some Pennsylvania Democrats Are Skeptical of Washington\u2019s Sway\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Trump\" class=\"wp-image-1759\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ec23158e2327d8ae7078710d9cda8c30-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ec23158e2327d8ae7078710d9cda8c30-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ec23158e2327d8ae7078710d9cda8c30-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ec23158e2327d8ae7078710d9cda8c30.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Trump Ramps Up Threats Against Iran Despite Pause in Strikes\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>OPPR was created to coordinate cross-agency responses to major public health risks. But that office has been empty since mid-2025, after all of the staffers from the Biden administration left and the health official appointed by the Trump administration to lead it, Gerald Parker, resigned.<\/p><p>Since then, the Trump administration has been <span><u>dogged by criticism<\/u><\/span> from public health experts for having a slow or inadequate response to major outbreaks.<\/p><p>In early July, the administration appointed Sara Brenner, a former Food and Drug Administration official, to lead OPPR, <span><u>Bloomberg reported<\/u><\/span>, effectively reforming the office. Another health official, Rachel Idowu, was reappointed to the National Security Council to serve as its director of bioresponse.<\/p><p>Former health officials say the appointments could indicate that the White House is seeking to be more involved in outbreak response.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes it\u2019s hard for the agencies to coordinate alone, and somebody needs to break the tie and say who\u2019s in charge,\u201d one former government official said.<\/p><p>A White House spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the the National Security Council, Homeland Security Council and Domestic Policy Council are \u201ctogether handling pandemic preparedness functions to fully account for the global and domestic needs in close partnership with the agencies.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cDr. Sara Brenner is on detail from HHS to lead the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response in order to assist with the White House\u2019s response to the multiple ongoing outbreaks,\u201d the spokesperson wrote.<\/p><p>Two former health officials told NOTUS that Idowu and Brenner were experienced and well positioned to strengthen the administration\u2019s pandemic policy and response.<\/p><p>Idowu in particular, they said, indicated that the administration wants to strengthen its response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo, which has <span><u>exploded<\/u><\/span> in case counts and is on track to be the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. Idowu, a career epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was heavily involved in the response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak.<\/p><p>\u201cTruly the right person to have in that office. She can do the work of two or three,\u201d one health official said of Idowu.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1750\">Trump Ramps Up Threats Against Iran Despite Pause in Strikes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Even so, former officials said that wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p><p>\u201cThere is a tremendous amount of work to be done,\u201d Bryon Cohen, a former adviser to OPPR, said in an email. He added that Idowu and Brenner are two \u201cvery experienced, capable people\u201d to lead pandemic preparedness activities.<\/p><p>\u201cThose two individuals only have so much time in the day, and they deserve a full staff to help them carry out their mission,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p><p>\u201cWhat they\u2019ll have to do is be very selective in terms of what they prioritize,\u201d the first former health official said.<\/p><p>Under the previous administration, a large part of the office\u2019s job was putting together a playbook on how to respond to outbreaks. That playbook was transferred to the National Security Council last year when OPPR was closing up shop \u2014 though it\u2019s not clear if the Trump administration has made use of it since.<\/p><p>\u201cI do think they have pulled it out. I don\u2019t know how they\u2019re following it, necessarily,\u201d the second former official said. They expected Idowu and Brenner to take advantage of it.<\/p>\n<p>Several former officials pointed out that during the Biden administration, OPPR also played an important role in getting biothreat policy out the door. Trump signed an <span><u>executive order<\/u><\/span> in 2025 putting a moratorium on so-called \u201cgain-of-function\u201d research, or infectious disease research that has the potential to create a pathogen that is more harmful to humans.<\/p><p>That executive order set deadlines of 90, 120 and 180 days for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to release modified guidelines for researchers. Those new guidelines have yet to be released.<\/p><p>\u201cWe\u2019re now a year later, and those policies still have not been finished. And that\u2019s because the people who work these issues at NSC and OSTP keep turning over,\u201d a former government official said. \u201cThe government can\u2019t do interagency long-term preparedness policy when they don\u2019t have the people to coordinate that.\u201d<\/p><p>The former official said they felt like Brenner\u2019s appointment to OPPR signified a desire to have someone the administration could trust in the role. Brenner has publicly aligned herself with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., though she has not spoken publicly about her views on gain-of-function research.<\/p><p>In a statement, the White House spokesperson said the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are \u201cprioritizing innovation and gold-standard science to ensure pandemic preparedness while also correcting course to prevent dangerous gain of function research and apply lessons learned from the damaging Biden approach of prolonged lockdowns and vaccine mandates.\u201d<\/p><p>With limited staffing, all five former health officials who spoke to NOTUS said the U.S. is at risk of being underprepared for future infectious disease threats.<\/p><p>One used the World Cup to explain the danger.<\/p><p>\u201cWe are a team on the field with half of our players having been given red cards, and we\u2019re going up against the Argentinas, Spains and Brazils of the world,\u201d they said. \u201cViruses and other infectious diseases and threats don\u2019t stop playing.\u201d<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1748\">Trump\u2019s Border Czar Says Vetting and Training for ICE Agents Is \u2018Under Review\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t run an Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy as an army of one,\u201d a former White House official said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The White House Is Back in the Pandemic Preparedness Game. 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Barely. - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1760#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1760#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/eccd39960336b09c2e6ce008a7eefe02-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-27T09:11:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1760#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1760"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1760#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/eccd39960336b09c2e6ce008a7eefe02-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/eccd39960336b09c2e6ce008a7eefe02-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump removes his mask as he stands on the Blue Room Balcony upon returning to the White House in Washington, after leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md. 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