Senior NIH leadership instructed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to remove the terms “biodefense” and “pandemic preparedness” from its website and to reprioritize funded research away from those topics. The directive, reported by Nature and attributed to internal emails and an NIH briefing, follows a strategic shift announced by NIH leadership emphasizing basic immunology and pressing domestic infectious diseases. NIAID historically directed roughly one-third of its $6.6 billion budget to emerging infectious diseases and biodefense; employees told Nature the reprioritization could reduce surveillance and countermeasure development for future novel pathogens. External experts warned the move could weaken U.S. readiness for spillover events and evolving zoonotic threats if surveillance and platform development are deprioritized. Clarification: biodefense and pandemic preparedness encompass surveillance, pathogen characterization, and medical-countermeasure platform work aimed at anticipating and responding to future outbreaks.