XWELL's chief executive says of the Congo award: 'This is a risky contract. I'm not sure we can do it'
XWELL, Inc.Chief executive Ezra Ernst, in an interview with ProPublica
XWELL chief executive Ezra Ernst tells ProPublica that XpresTest won both awards in competitive bidding and has years of airport screening experience, but says working abroad is new for the company and that he is not sure it can carry out the work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Responding to
XpresTest won its CDC Ebola entry screening contract and its State Department outbreak response award through competitive bidding.
“This is a risky contract. I'm not sure we can do it”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
XpresTest won nearly $40 million in Ebola screening awards months after a fund tied to Trump's sons invested in its parent; the sons say they had no role
On November 9, 2026, ProPublica reported that XpresTest, the biosurveillance subsidiary of XWELL Inc., received an $18.8 million CDC contract to screen travelers for Ebola at U.S. airports and a $20 million State Department award for outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both came months after American Ventures, a fund launched by Dominari Holdings, invested about $30 million in XWELL. Dominari hired Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump as advisers and gave them a stake of more than 10%, according to ProPublica. XWELL's chief executive, Ezra Ernst, told ProPublica that XpresTest won both awards in competitive bidding. The federal award record for the CDC contract lists it as not competed, with one offer received, under the urgency exception in FAR 6.302-2. The State Department says its award was competitive. A spokesperson for the Trump sons says they are passive minority investors in the fund and had no involvement in the contracts.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
ProPublica reports that XpresTest, a subsidiary of XWELL, received an $18.8 million CDC contract for Ebola entry screening at U.S. airports and a $20 million State Department award for outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of Congo, months after American Ventures, a fund launched by Dominari Holdings, invested about $30 million in XWELL. It includes responses from the State Department, a spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, Dominari's chief executive and XWELL's chief executive.
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ProPublica reports that Ernst said XpresTest won both contracts in a competitive bidding process and pointed to its years of screening for COVID-19 and other pathogens at U.S. airports, while acknowledging that working internationally is a new thing for the company and expressing uncertainty about completing the work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
After the quotation
ProPublica then quotes Jeremy Konyndyk, who helped oversee the U.S. response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, on the choice of a company with no experience in Africa.
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The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the award of nearly $40 million in federal Ebola screening and outbreak response funding to XpresTest months after a fund tied to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump invested in its parent company, XWELL. Ernst defends the awards as won in competitive bidding and backed by the firm's screening record, but says the Congo contract is risky and he is not sure the company can do it, so his position is mixed.
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More from this case
Read the full caseKonyndyk asks why the government is 'not going with someone who has actually done this before'
“I have to wonder why the hell they're not going with someone who has actually done this before.”Read statement
Dominari's chief executive says he has never heard of the Trump sons using their name to influence a government contract
Dominari Holdings
“We have never seen or even heard of Don or Eric using their family name to influence the granting of a government contract.”Read statement
State Department says its XpresTest award was made 'through a competitive process'
U.S. Department of State
“through a competitive process that builds on this successful model”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "XWELL's chief executive says of the Congo award: 'This is a risky contract. I'm not sure we can do it'". First published: 2026-11-10. Last updated: 2026-11-10. https://disputeindex.com/events/8507-xwell-chief-executive-ezra-ernst-tells-propublica-that