The White House is looking to ramp up its involvement in outbreak response by increasing staffing at the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy. 

The office, which at its peak in 2024 had 15 employees, was staffed by just one health official and a biosecurity specialist at the National Security Council, NOTUS reported. 

But following multiple outbreaks over the past year — including a record-breaking measles resurgence, Ebola outbreak in the Congo, a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship and thousands became infected with parasites linked to lettuce — the White House is trying to be more actively involved in pandemic response. 

The OPPR was created to coordinate responses across federal agencies to major public health risks, but the office has been empty since 2025, when all of its employees from the Biden administration left and its head, Gerald Parker, resigned. 

In early July, the Trump administration appointed Sara Brenner, a former Food and Drug Administration official, to head the OPPR, Bloomberg reported, and Rachel Idowu was reappointed to the National Security Council to serve as director of bioresponse. 

Health officials say the reappointments suggest the Trump administration is trying to be more active in outbreak response.