Trump Orders U.S. To Withdraw From World Health Organization

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday night to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of COVID and demands for “onerous payments.” 

The order from Trump restored a policy that had been put in place at the end of his first administration, but was later revoked by President Joe Biden. When speaking with reporters about the order, Trump said the U.S. was paying too much to be a member of the UN-backed WHO in comparison to other countries like China. 

“So we paid $500 million to World Health when I was here and I terminated it,” Trump said, adding that it “seemed a little unfair” because China was paying around $39 million to the organization. 

“China pays $39 million and we pay $500 million and China’s a bigger country,” he said. 

???? President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization pic.twitter.com/YyKYMP53Ur

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025

Trump’s executive order says that the U.S. first withdrew from WHO in 2020 because of “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”  

“In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments,” the order added. “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.”

The order officially retracts a letter Biden sent to the United Nations on January 20, 2021, re-entering the U.S. into the global health body. 

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WHO said that it was disappointed with Trump’s decision. 

“We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” the organization said. 

WHO has again faced scrutiny from Republican lawmakers in recent months over its transgender guidelines and a global “pandemic treaty” it was proposing.

In November, a coalition of congressional Republicans urged WHO to disband its Guideline Development Group (GDG) on transgenderism because of its ties to leftist activist groups. The lawmakers said that the group has bypassed and ignored scientific evidence showing the harms of transgender procedures.