Updated May 24, 2026 / CBS News
Summary of the interview that aired on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.
Nancy Cordes: We discussed the expanding Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Dr. Deborah Birx, former White House coronavirus response coordinator and former Global AIDS Coordinator who helped lead the 2014 Ebola response. Dr. Birx emphasized that the current surge in reported cases reflects weeks of undetected transmission. She explained that there were likely two to four cycles of infection before authorities reported the outbreak, which means many of the new cases being counted today were actually infected up to two weeks earlier. Because of that delay, the figures and the rate of increase are based on older events, making it harder to assess the present trajectory of the epidemic.
Cordes asked what Americans should know after an incident in which a passenger from the region was mistakenly allowed to board a flight to the United States and the plane was diverted. Dr. Birx said public concern is understandable given recent pandemic experience, but noted that the DRC has had many Ebola outbreaks over the past few decades and has built up some preparedness. She pointed out that, since COVID-19, the U.S. and international partners have strengthened hospital readiness and now have bio-containment facilities in multiple hospitals. Those measures, she said, are part of a proactive approach to preventing importation and limiting spread.
On travel restrictions, Birx described them as one component of a comprehensive response rather than a standalone solution. She highlighted that the U.S. quickly deployed a DART team, that USAID and State Department personnel with Ebola experience are on the ground, and that CDC teams are stationed in Kinshasa to support the response.
Cordes raised concerns about recent U.S. policy changes, noting that in the past year and a half the Trump administration had restructured USAID, withdrawn from the World Health Organization, and cut some funding to the region. She asked whether those moves contributed to delayed reporting or shortages of supplies. Dr. Birx said the U.S. did put tens of millions of dollars into the response and sent personnel rapidly, but she focused on a different concern: the African CDC and the laboratory and surveillance capacity that the global community invested in did not detect this outbreak early enough. Significant investments went into building detection and response systems, she said, and the failure to catch the outbreak sooner needs investigation. While acknowledging conflict and access challenges in the DRC, she insisted that global institutions must perform better to protect people there and worldwide.
Cordes noted accounts from aid workers who said local preparedness programs were terminated after U.S. aid was reduced, leaving diminished capacity on the ground. Dr. Birx agreed that this is an important question to review. She said some core U.S. programs, such as CDC’s global health security work and large HIV-related lab investments, remain in place and, on paper, many commitments still exist. But she conceded perceptions of cuts have caused worry and that examining what was lost at the local level is necessary.
When asked whether the United States is prepared to handle an Ebola outbreak at home given the lack of confirmed leaders at agencies like the CDC, FDA, and Surgeon General, Dr. Birx reassured viewers that the federal system contains experienced personnel. She noted the administration has created an interagency Ebola task force and that, despite vacancies, there is a deep bench of career public health professionals and military and federal experts ready to respond. Nonetheless, she reiterated the need for strong leadership and for strengthening regional institutions such as the African CDC, which was intended to be an early mobilizer for protective gear, testing, and community engagement.
Cordes thanked Dr. Birx for her perspective. Dr. Birx concluded that while the immediate U.S. response has been rapid, the global community should examine why early detection failed in this instance and work to bolster the systems meant to prevent outbreaks from growing.
End of summary.