Dr. Makary’s Bold Accusation Against NIH Funding Practices
In a recent appearance on NewsNation, newly appointed FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary did not mince words when he accused the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of financially backing the lab that created the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, a tragedy that claimed over 20 million lives worldwide. This revelation is both shocking and a stark indictment of the NIH’s funding priorities.
Dr. Makary:
The way it used to be. We’re planning to change our health agencies for a generation or longer. Look at the NIH. When J. Bhattacharya came in there, it was a mess. Fourteen percent of the grants were descriptive studies on health equity.And the NIH had just funded a lab that brewed up a virus that killed 20 million people worldwide. So they’re getting back to studying root causes, a cure for cancer, debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, and they’re going to do good work.
Connell McShane:
Right, but you have to do it with fewer people. Is that a challenge with the cuts, or is that not really what it’s made out to be either?Dr. Makary:
The FDA is strong, and it’s going to continue to be strong. The cuts were consolidations. There were no layoffs to scientific reviewers or inspectors at the FDA.There was consolidation of the twelve travel offices at the FDA. And so we’re going to institute teamwork and break up the fiefdom culture within the agency. It’s an interesting conversation.
WATCH:
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary:
“The NIH had just funded a lab that brewed up a virus that killed 20 million people worldwide!” pic.twitter.com/ZtX9hH6vxX
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 30, 2025
Adding fuel to this contentious fire, a recent CIA analysis under the Trump administration put forth the theory that the COVID-19 virus may have escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China. CIA Director John Ratcliffe expressed frustration over the agency’s previous inaction regarding the virus’s origins, citing the tragic loss of American lives as a driving force behind a renewed inquiry.
This assessment aligns with the conclusions drawn by the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which stated in their final report that “COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.” The implications of this finding are far-reaching, questioning not only the origins of the virus but also the accountability of the agencies involved.
Moreover, a former FBI scientist, Jason Bannan, recently alleged that the Biden administration deliberately omitted key evidence connecting the virus’s origins to the Wuhan Institute of Virology from a critical intelligence briefing in 2021. This raises serious concerns about transparency and the integrity of information shared with the public.
As early as April 2020, was among the first to suggest that the Wuhan lab, recognized as Asia’s only Level 4 virology lab, could be the source of the pandemic. This assertion, once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, has gained traction, bolstered by findings from the FBI and other credible sources.
Despite years of dismissal from government entities, Big Tech, and mainstream media, the lab-leak theory is now being reevaluated and is supported by mounting evidence. For years, institutions like the CDC, WHO, and Dr. Anthony Fauci have played down the lab leak hypothesis, favoring the narrative of animal-to-human transmission. Yet, as new revelations come to light, it seems the narrative may need to be rewritten.
