The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday identified the pathogen as Fusarium graminearum, a fungus it said was classified in scientific literature as a potential agroterrorism weapon. In a statement it said that the fungus causes “head blight” in some crops and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses globally each year.

Why it matters: Fusarium head blight hurts yields and crop quality, causing billions of dollars of damage globally each year

According to an FBI criminal complaint, Zunyong Liu, 34, a researcher currently in China, brought the fungus into the United States while visiting his girlfriend, Yunqing Jian, 33, in July 2024.

He admitted to smuggling in the fungus so he could conduct research on it at a University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend worked, according to the complaint.

The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the complaint, an examination of electronic communications between the two indicated that they discussed shipping biological materials and research being done in the laboratory prior to Liu’s arrival.

Jian and Liu were accused in the complaint of conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements and visa fraud.

Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said the pair’s actions “posed an imminent threat to public safety.”

Jian was expected to appear in court in Detroit, Michigan, on Tuesday. A judge appointed a public defender, who could not be immediately reached for comment, to represent Jian.

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Trump was due to meet with Loeffler on Friday afternoon at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence, CNN said. Reuters was not able to confirm the report.

Trump chose Loeffler, a staunch supporter and donor, to co-chair his inaugural committee after he won the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.

If confirmed, Loeffler would lead a 100,000-person agency with offices in every county in the country, whose remit includes farm and nutrition programs, forestry, home and farm lending, food safety, rural development, agricultural research, trade, and more.

The nominee’s agenda would carry implications for American diets and wallets, both urban and rural. Department of Agriculture officials and staff negotiate trade deals, guide dietary recommendations, inspect meat, fight wildfires, support rural broadband, and much more.

Loeffler was appointed to the U.S. Senate seat from Georgia in 2019 to succeed former Senator Johnny Isakson, who retired. She lost it to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a special election in 2021.

During her stint in the U.S. Senate, Loeffler served briefly on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee in 2020 cleared Senator Loeffler of wrongdoing in connection with stock trades, her office said, after the wealthy Republican was criticized over share sales during the coronavirus outbreak.

Loeffler and her husband’s net worth has been estimated at more than $500 million.

If confirmed, Loeffler would advise the administration on how and whether to implement clean fuel tax credits for biofuels at a time when the sector is hoping to grow through the production of sustainable aviation fuel.

The nominee would also guide next year’s renegotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, in the shadow of disputes over Mexico’s attempt to bar imports of genetically modified corn and Canada’s dairy import quotas.

Trump has said he again plans to institute sweeping tariffs that are likely to affect the farm sector.

Loeffler, then a co-owner of the women’s basketball team Atlanta Dream, came under fire in 2020 when she sent a letter to the WNBA commissioner objecting to the league’s decision to campaign for racial justice and the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

Loeffler faced months of activism from WNBA players who called for her removal from the ownership team. The team was sold in 2021.

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The FDA said that because the milk is pasteurized, it remains safe for human consumption as the process kills harmful bacteria and viruses by heating milk to a specific temperature.

“Based on available information, pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus, however the process is not expected to remove the presence of viral particles,” the FDA said.

The agency said it has been evaluating milk from affected animals, in the processing system and on the shelves. It said it is completing a large, representative national sample to understand the extent of the findings.

The FDA said it is further assessing any positive findings through egg inoculation tests, which it described as a gold standard for determining viable virus.

The agency said it has seen nothing that would change its assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe, adding that results from multiple studies will be made available in the next few days to weeks.

“Sound science is critical to informing public health decisions like those made by the FDA related to food safety and we take this current situation and the safety of the milk supply very seriously,” the agency said.

There are confirmed cases of bird flu in dairy cattle in eight U.S. states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said one associated human case has been linked with the outbreak in dairy cows. The case was reported in Texas on April 1.

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