Trump Administration Restarts Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy

The White House is expanding its role in outbreak response after a series of public-health emergencies—including a record-breaking measles resurgence, a cruise-ship hantavirus incident, a lettuce-borne parasite infection affecting thousands, and an accelerating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that threatens to become the largest ever recorded. The Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), created to coordinate cross-agency actions on major health threats, had been empty since mid-2025 when staff from the previous administration departed and its head, Gerald Parker, resigned.

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In early July, the administration appointed Sara Brenner, a former Food and Drug Administration official, to lead OPPR, and reappointed Rachel Idowu, a career CDC epidemiologist who helped manage the 2014 Ebola crisis, as director of bioresponse at the National Security Council. At its 2024 peak, OPPR employed 15 staff members; by the time of the recent appointments it was staffed by only one health official and a biosecurity specialist at the National Security Council.

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The spokesperson noted that Dr. Sara Brenner is on detail from HHS to lead OPPR.

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Byron Cohen, a former OPPR adviser, emphasized that “Those two individuals only have so much time in the day, and they deserve a full staff to help them carry out their mission.” He and other former officials argue that limited staffing hampers the office’s ability to develop and implement a comprehensive outbreak playbook and to sustain long-term interagency preparedness.

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• “There is a tremendous amount of work to be done,” — Byron Cohen, former OPPR adviser “There is a tremendous amount of work to be done,” — Byron Cohen, former OPPR adviser

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• “Those two individuals only have so much time in the day, and they deserve a full staff to help them carry out their mission,” — Byron Cohen, former OPPR adviser “Those two individuals only have so much time in the day, and they deserve a full staff to help them carry out their mission,” — Byron Cohen, former OPPR adviser

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