Ebola Returns Just as the White House Loses Its Top Biodefense Expert

This week, three things happened with painfully ironic synchronicity. First, the Democratic Republic of the Congo revealed that it is facing down its ninth Ebola outbreak. Second, President Trump asked Congress to rescind a $252 million pot that had been put aside to deal with Ebola. And third, global health expert Tim Ziemer unexpectedly departed the National Security Council, where he served as senior director for global health security and biodefense.

A retired rear-admiral who coordinated the , which reduced global malaria deaths by 40 percent, Ziemer is highly respected by his peers and has been described as.” Health-security experts called his departure from the NSC a —one that jeopardizes America’s already against infectious threats.