Doctor-turned-congresswoman praises Trump for ending federal funding of gain-of-function research

Iowa GOP Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks praised President Donald Trump for ending gain-of-function research with an executive order.

"There was a pause in gain of function research," Miller-Meeks said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "And then after the two-year pause, Dr. Fauci really was instrumental in getting the pause lifted. Of course, now we know that's because there were grants going to EcoHealth, which was supporting gain of function research and Wuhan Institute of Virology."

Miller-Meeks represents the first district of Iowa. She also ran a private ophthalmology practice in Ottumwa until 2008 and served as the first female president of the Iowa Medical Society.

Trump on Monday signed an executive order that bans federal funding for gain-of-function research in "China and other countries where there is limited United States oversight or reasonable expectation of biosafety enforcement."

National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya also announced Monday that the agency closed its last beagle lab, ending all experiments on dogs.

"Kudos and props to President Trump for both ending gain of function research and ending this type of animal experimentation," Miller-Meeks said.