ICYMI: Murray Funds and Delivers New WSU Food Security Research Program that Trump Fought to Cancel

Murray: “President Trump illegally slashed Feed the Future funding and fought to cancel programs like this one—instead, I wrote that funding into law and secured $72 million to restore it, so he couldn’t simply make it disappear. Because I fought back, WSU researchers are now leading this work instead of watching it shut down.”

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Washington State University (WSU) was awarded a federal grant to lead a new Feed the Future Animal Health Innovation Lab (AHIL) to contribute to animal health research to expand world markets for American livestock technologies, and support international efforts to improve animal health and food security in Africa. WSU’s research will support communities in Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Zambia. 

WSU will receive an initial $9.6 million, with the opportunity to increase funding up to $40 million over five years to support animal health and livestock research. 

“WSU is proving once again why Washington state’s universities are among the best in the world: this research will protect livestock, strengthen food security for families across Africa, and open new markets for agricultural technology from America,” said Senator Murray. “President Trump illegally slashed Feed the Future funding and fought to cancel programs like this one—instead, I wrote that funding into law and secured $72 million to restore it, so he couldn’t simply make it disappear. Because I fought back, WSU researchers are now leading this work instead of watching it shut down. I’m incredibly proud of my alma mater, and I’ll keep working to make sure American universities can lead the world in tackling hunger.”

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab program is funded through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response. In fiscal year 2025, President Trump cut off funding for Innovation Labs, illegally cancelled funding approved by Congress, and pushed to scrap the program. But as Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray pushed back, and continued to fund the Feed the Future Innovation Lab program while strengthening legal mandates that it gets carried out in the fiscal year 2026 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill. Senator Murray secured $72 million to restore funding for Feed the Future Innovation Labs that support partnerships between U.S. universities and developing country research institutions to advance novel solutions to pressing food security challenges.

Learn more about WSU’s plans for the new Animal Health Innovation Lab HERE.

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