President Donald Trump initiated the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday, reversing a Biden administration decision and prompting immediate pushback from public health experts and lawmakers.
The executive order, signed during Trump’s first day back in the White House, cites the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and its alleged failure to demonstrate independence from member states’ political influence as key reasons for the withdrawal. “That’s a big one,” Trump remarked to an aide while signing the order, referencing his previous 2020 attempt to leave the organisation.
This move marks a dramatic shift from four years ago when President Joe Biden halted Trump’s initial withdrawal attempt from the UN health agency in one of his first executive actions. The current order directs the State Department and Office of Management and Budget to pause U.S. funding and resource transfers to the WHO immediately.
Public health experts warn the decision could have far-reaching consequences. A former White House COVID-19 response coordinator under Biden, Dr. Ashish Jha, called the withdrawal a “strategic error” that creates a political vacuum China could fill. “WHO is a pretty essential organisation,” Jha said in an interview with CNN. “With America’s withdrawal, it creates a political vacuum that only one country can fill – and that is China.”
Legal experts question the order’s implementation timeline. Georgetown University’s public health law professor Lawrence Gostin argued that the action is “riddled with legal and factual errors,” noting that Trump isn’t observing the congressionally mandated one-year withdrawal period.
The withdrawal process typically requires a year to complete, during which the U.S. remains obligated to maintain its funding commitments. However, enforcement of these obligations under the current administration remains uncertain.
The decision echoed Trump’s 2020 criticism of the WHO when he accused the organisation of helping China allegedly cover up COVID-19’s origins. While both parties had criticised the WHO’s pandemic response in 2020, many lawmakers opposed withdrawing during a global health crisis. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called that attempt “an act of true senselessness.”
Public health experts emphasise that U.S. withdrawal could weaken global health surveillance, particularly in tracking influenza outbreaks, as the WHO relies heavily on American expertise and staffing. “It’s a cataclysmic presidential decision,” Gostin posted on X. “Withdrawal is a grievous wound to world health, but a still deeper wound to the US.”
The move represents one of Trump’s most significant early actions upon returning to the White House, with potentially lasting implications for global health cooperation and American influence in international organisations.
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