Trump Administration Slashes Biosecurity Team Amid Rising AI Weaponization Concerns

The White House has dramatically reduced its biological security staff since President Trump returned to office, prompting worries that AI could accelerate the creation of novel bioweapons.

Since Donald Trump resumed the presidency, the White House’s biological security workforce has been cut from roughly 30 experts under the prior administration to a handful, sometimes leaving no dedicated staff for the issue. The remaining team consists of a junior fellow lacking a security clearance, an Air Force doctor acting as a consultant to the White House medical office, a part-time researcher, and two CIA employees with minimal field experience.

In parallel, a dedicated health-security unit at the National Security Agency was shut down, and related groups at the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were fragmented. The administration’s broader deregulation agenda is seen by critics as catering to big-tech interests that have financially supported pro-MAGA causes. Growing concerns that advanced AI models could enable even inexperienced actors to design biological attacks have led to recent briefings between OpenAI and multiple federal agencies. A White House spokesperson affirmed ongoing efforts to develop policy on AI and biological safety, citing work begun over a year ago and an AI Action Plan released last summer.