In a significant triumph for fiscal responsibility and animal welfare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially ceased operations at its primate laboratories, where hundreds of monkeys were subjected to experimentation funded by taxpayers.
This decisive move, which aligns with President Donald Trump's administration's priorities, marks a notable step in curbing government waste and promoting humane treatment of animals.
As reported by Gateway Pundit, the closure of these facilities was first revealed by Science magazine. The action results from persistent advocacy by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), a watchdog organization that has collaborated with the Trump administration since 2017 to eliminate wasteful and inhumane government-funded animal testing. Anthony Bellotti, President and Founder of WCW, expressed his satisfaction with this development, attributing it to the organization's relentless efforts.
Bellotti highlighted an expos by Gateway Pundit and WCW in August 2025, which uncovered the use of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Florida state funds for creating "transgender monkeys." This revelation played a crucial role in elevating the issue within the administration, making the defunding of primate laboratories a top priority. Furthermore, Laura Loomer reported that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who discussed White Coat Waste's influential 'Beaglegate' investigation in his book "The Real Anthony Fauci," expressed eagerness to collaborate with WCW to identify and eliminate further wasteful and unnecessary taxpayer-funded animal testing.
The investigation, along with WCW's broader campaign exposing millions spent on transgender animal experiments across various agencies, exerted substantial public and political pressure on the Trump administration to act swiftly. Loomer confirmed that WCW has been working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to close the CDC monkey lab and relocate the monkeys to sanctuaries. This development follows her discussions with Secretary Kennedy, where she persistently advocated for ending taxpayer-funded primate testing.
This collaboration between WCW and the Trump administration is not unprecedented. During Trump's first term, WCW's investigation led to the FDA's permanent cessation of nicotine addiction experiments on baby squirrel monkeys, with the surviving animals retired to a sanctuarya historic first for any federal agency. Currently, with approximately 200 monkeys still housed in CDC facilities, WCW is urging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to facilitate their retirement to sanctuaries, replicating the success achieved with the FDA primates.
Since President Trump resumed office, his administration has already terminated or defunded numerous animal testing grants from the Fauci era, including the controversial "transgender monkey" projects that Gateway Pundit and WCW brought to public attention. White Coat Waste's guiding principle, "Stop the money. Stop the madness," has once again been realized, underscoring the administration's commitment to fiscal prudence and ethical treatment of animals.
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