Firm tied to Trump's sons won nearly $40 million in Ebola screening contracts

The Trump administration awarded a small biosecurity company nearly $40 million to screen for Ebola and other diseases. The awards came just months after a firm linked to President Donald Trump's elder sons invested in the company's parent, ProPublica reported Monday ¹.

The two contracts are seven times the total value of government contracts the company, XpresTest, had received directly before. One pays for Ebola screening at several U.S. airports. The other pays for responding to disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo ¹.

A spa company with a new specialty

XpresTest's parent, XWELL, made most of its money last year from waxing salons and airport spas that offer manicures, massages and "chakra beds." XpresTest has years of experience monitoring for COVID-19 and other diseases at U.S. airports. It has never worked with Ebola or provided biosecurity services abroad, ProPublica reported ¹.

The State Department awarded XpresTest $20 million under a program of up to $4.5 billion announced in March. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) separately awarded it $18.8 million in June. Better-known aid groups, including Save the Children, received awards of $25 million to $35 million ¹.

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XWELL's chief executive, Ezra Ernst, said XpresTest won both contracts through competitive bidding. He also said working internationally is "a new thing for us." He told ProPublica his own view of the Congo job in blunt terms ¹.

This is a risky contract. I’m not sure we can do it,

The Trump sons' link

In February, a fund called American Ventures invested about $30 million in XWELL, ProPublica reported. Dominari Holdings, a small financial firm with offices in Trump Tower, launched the fund. Dominari hired Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump as advisers and gave them a stake of more than 10% in the firm ¹.

An April report from the financial site Oninvest also described American Ventures as linked to the president's children. It said XWELL planned AI-powered disease screening at U.S. airports ahead of the June World Cup ².

A spokesperson for the sons said they are "merely passive, minority investors in a fund that invested in this company." The spokesperson said they had no involvement in or knowledge of the contracts and have "broken no laws." The State Department said its award came through a competitive process ¹.

Questions from outside experts

Jeremy Konyndyk helped oversee the U.S. response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He told ProPublica it is concerning that the government would give such a lucrative contract to a company with no experience in Africa ¹.

There are countless organizations in the world that have decades of experience doing this work,

The stakes are high. An Ebola outbreak in Congo has killed more than 5,000 people this year, and the federal government is trying to keep the virus out of the U.S. Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization last year, dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development and sharply cut the CDC's global presence ¹.

In July, XWELL announced plans to sell XpresTest and its spas for $13 million. Ernst said the government contracts played a role in that price. XWELL would benefit if the sale closes, though it would not do the government work ¹.

What happens next is unclear. ProPublica reported that XWELL did not announce either biosecurity contract, which became public in federal contracting disclosures ¹. This brief does not include a Democratic response because none appears in the reporting we reviewed.

That matters because the question is not whether the sons broke a law, which they deny. It is whether a public health emergency contract went to a company with little relevant experience and a family-linked investor. Congressional oversight, including the subpoena power Democrats gain in January, could test that.

The Record

1. Feb 1, 2026American Ventures, a fund launched by Dominari Holdings, invests about $30 million in XWELL ¹.
2. Jun 1, 2026The CDC awards XpresTest an $18.8 million contract for Ebola entry screening ¹.
3. Jul 1, 2026XWELL announces plans to sell XpresTest and its spa line for $13 million ¹.
4. Nov 9, 2026ProPublica reports the contracts, totaling nearly $40 million, and the Trump sons' link to the parent company's investor ¹.

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<h2>Firm tied to Trump&#39;s sons won nearly $40 million in Ebola screening contracts</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Investigations Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/firm-tied-to-trump-s-sons-won-nearly-40-million-in-ebola-screening-contracts">The GOP Files</a> on Monday, November 9, 2026.</em></p> <p>The Trump administration awarded a small biosecurity company nearly $40 million to screen for Ebola and other diseases. The awards came just months after a firm linked to President Donald Trump&#39;s elder sons invested in the company&#39;s parent, ProPublica reported Monday .</p> <p>The two contracts are seven times the total value of government contracts the company, XpresTest, had received directly before. One pays for Ebola screening at several U.S. airports. The other pays for responding to disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo .</p> <h2>A spa company with a new specialty</h2> <p>XpresTest&#39;s parent, XWELL, made most of its money last year from waxing salons and airport spas that offer manicures, massages and &quot;chakra beds.&quot; XpresTest has years of experience monitoring for COVID-19 and other diseases at U.S. airports. It has never worked with Ebola or provided biosecurity services abroad, ProPublica reported .</p> <p>The State Department awarded XpresTest $20 million under a program of up to $4.5 billion announced in March. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) separately awarded it $18.8 million in June. Better-known aid groups, including Save the Children, received awards of $25 million to $35 million .</p> <p>XWELL&#39;s chief executive, Ezra Ernst, said XpresTest won both contracts through competitive bidding. He also said working internationally is &quot;a new thing for us.&quot; He told ProPublica his own view of the Congo job in blunt terms .</p> <blockquote><p>This is a risky contract. I’m not sure we can do it,</p><p>&mdash; Ezra Ernst, CEO of XWELL, parent of XpresTest</p></blockquote> <h2>The Trump sons&#39; link</h2> <p>In February, a fund called American Ventures invested about $30 million in XWELL, ProPublica reported. Dominari Holdings, a small financial firm with offices in Trump Tower, launched the fund. Dominari hired Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump as advisers and gave them a stake of more than 10% in the firm .</p> <p>An April report from the financial site Oninvest also described American Ventures as linked to the president&#39;s children. It said XWELL planned AI-powered disease screening at U.S. airports ahead of the June World Cup .</p> <p>A spokesperson for the sons said they are &quot;merely passive, minority investors in a fund that invested in this company.&quot; The spokesperson said they had no involvement in or knowledge of the contracts and have &quot;broken no laws.&quot; The State Department said its award came through a competitive process .</p> <h2>Questions from outside experts</h2> <p>Jeremy Konyndyk helped oversee the U.S. response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He told ProPublica it is concerning that the government would give such a lucrative contract to a company with no experience in Africa .</p> <blockquote><p>There are countless organizations in the world that have decades of experience doing this work,</p><p>&mdash; Jeremy Konyndyk, former official who helped oversee the U.S. response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak</p></blockquote> <p>The stakes are high. An Ebola outbreak in Congo has killed more than 5,000 people this year, and the federal government is trying to keep the virus out of the U.S. Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization last year, dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development and sharply cut the CDC&#39;s global presence .</p> <p>In July, XWELL announced plans to sell XpresTest and its spas for $13 million. Ernst said the government contracts played a role in that price. XWELL would benefit if the sale closes, though it would not do the government work .</p> <p>What happens next is unclear. ProPublica reported that XWELL did not announce either biosecurity contract, which became public in federal contracting disclosures . This brief does not include a Democratic response because none appears in the reporting we reviewed.</p> <p>That matters because the question is not whether the sons broke a law, which they deny. It is whether a public health emergency contract went to a company with little relevant experience and a family-linked investor. Congressional oversight, including the subpoena power Democrats gain in January, could test that.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/firm-tied-to-trump-s-sons-won-nearly-40-million-in-ebola-screening-contracts">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/firm-tied-to-trump-s-sons-won-nearly-40-million-in-ebola-screening-contracts.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. ProPublica, “Firm Linked to Trump's Sons Got Nearly $40 Million in Federal Contracts to Screen for Ebola and Other Diseases” (2026-11-09). propublica.org/article/trump-sons-xwell-xprestest-government
2. Oninvest, “An investment group linked to Trump's children has bought shares in a small-cap spa owner” (2026-04-06). en.oninvest.com/article/an-investment-group-linked-to-trump-

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