Trump Withdraws United States From WHO

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the second time.

Trump noted the organisation’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crises, and its receptiveness to political influence from other member states.

“The WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO,” according to a White House statement on Monday.

The exit is set to take effect in 2026 following a one-year notice period, with an immediate pause of “future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO,” according to the statement.

It came as part of a flurry of executive orders that Trump signed on his first day of office on Jan. 20.

Executive orders are part of a U.S. president’s powers and carry legal standing generally without congressional approval. Still, a court may strike them down if it deems the order exceeds presidential authority.

Trump first withdrew from the WHO in 2020, giving a year’s notice, and President Joe Biden immediately reversed the decision when he took office in 2021.

The United States initially joined the WHO as an act of Congress in 1948 and, according to its joint resolution, reserves the right to withdraw on a one-year notice.

Some experts imply that it would need congressional approval.

Professor Lawrence Gostin, head of the WHO Center on Global Health Law, wrote on social media platform X on Tuesday: “Trump needs Congress’ approval to withdraw. His decision is too catastrophic to be made without Congress and the courts. As director of a WHO Center, I am considering a lawsuit.”

Germany’s health minister said on Wednesday that Berlin hoped to talk Trump out of the move, while the European Union has voiced concerns.

The United States has traditionally been the most significant contributor to the WHO, with donations amounting to $1.284 billion during 2022–2023, according to its website.

A Republican-led Congressional watchdog criticised the WHO in a Dec. 2 report for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it an “abject failure.”

The House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic described how the organisation succumbed to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), placing “China’s political interests ahead of its international duties.”

The report states that the WHO ignored warnings from Taiwan of an upcoming virus in 2019 owing to pressure from the Chinese regime.

Taiwan is not a member of the WHO, which doesn’t recognise the country as an independent state.

Throughout the pandemic, the WHO continuously relied on “false information from the CCP,” and constantly praised the Chinese regime, according to the report.

This included ignoring initial warnings of human-to-human transmission and instead promoting CCP propaganda until a month later.

The White House has said it will find alternative partners to cover the areas left by the WHO’s departure.

Aldgra Fredly and Reuters contributed to this report.