President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Checks by Investors King showed that the White House website described the decision as a response to the “unfairly onerous payments” demanded by the WHO.
“World Health ripped us off,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “Everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore.”
The Geneva-based WHO plays a critical role in addressing global health challenges and will lose $662 million contributed by the U.S. The US has historically provided 19% of the WHO’s total revenue.
During President Trump’s first term, he accused the WHO of deferring to China in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and failing to act swiftly to contain the outbreak.
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and health advocates, argued that the move was politically motivated to deflect attention from his administration’s handling of the pandemic.
“When it became a WHO member in 1948, the US decided that a withdrawal would be preceded by a one-year notice period and full payment of financial obligations,” the executive order noted. However, Trump’s order also pauses the transfer of US government funds to the WHO and directs a review of the 2024 US Global Health Security Strategy, with the aim of replacing it “as soon as practicable.”
The legality of a presidential withdrawal from the WHO without congressional approval remains unclear as a 2020 Congressional Research Service report showed that such a decision might require legislative backing.
However, the Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely to block Trump’s move.
The WHO has been instrumental in eradicating smallpox and continues to combat global health emergencies, including outbreaks of HIV, polio, cholera, dengue, mpox, and Marburg virus.
A US departure would deal a severe blow to the organization’s ability to respond effectively to these challenges.
President Joe Biden had reversed Trump’s previous withdrawal attempt in January 2021 before the one-year notice period expired, citing the importance of global health cooperation.
Trump’s renewed efforts to exit the WHO are expected to have far-reaching consequences, potentially weakening the agency’s capacity to address pressing health issues worldwide.