President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday afternoon to halt federal funding for risky virus research that Republicans argue may have been the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order aims to stop scientists from conducting “gain-of-function” research with federal funding.

Trump halted biological research funding to adversaries such as China and Iran because of concerns COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab.

The US will no longer fund research involving viruses that could potentially trigger a pandemic, according to Bloomberg and CNN. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at restricting federal funding for gain-of-function research — experiments that involve altering pathogens to study their potential to become more dangerous.