(LibertySociety.com) – The United States is expected to withdraw from the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) on the first day of President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration, according to a report from the Financial Times. The move, slated for January 20, would mark a decisive step in Trump’s renewed critique of the Geneva-based health organization.
The U.S. has been the W.H.O.’s largest single contributor, accounting for about 16 percent of its $6.83 billion budget in 2024. The organization employs over 8,000 staff members worldwide. Trump and other conservative critics have long criticized the W.H.O. as a drain on American taxpayer funds and accused it of being unduly influenced by China.
The Financial Times reports that members of Trump’s transition team have signaled their intent to move quickly on the withdrawal, emphasizing the symbolic importance of taking action on inauguration day. This would finalize a process Trump began in 2020, during his first term, when he accused the W.H.O. of siding with China during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Although Trump initiated the withdrawal at that time, the process was halted when President Joe Biden reentered the organization on his first day in office in 2021.
Ashish Jha, Biden’s former coronavirus response coordinator and dean of Brown University’s school of public health, stated that Trump’s team appears intent on expediting the exit this time. He noted that some in Trump’s inner circle view the W.H.O. with deep mistrust and see leaving as a powerful inaugural statement.
“There are lots of people who are going to be part of the inner circle of the administration who do not trust the W.H.O. and want to symbolically show on day one that they are out,” Jha told the Financial Times.
The Trump transition team has not officially commented on the report, but a source familiar with the discussions suggested the W.H.O. holds little sway with the incoming administration. “The same W.H.O. that we left in the first administration? It seems like we wouldn’t much care what they have to say,” the source said.
Trump previously criticized the organization’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing it of lacking transparency and favoring China’s interests. In April 2020, he described the W.H.O. as “very China-centric,” adding that it seemed to “err always on the side of China.”
If the withdrawal proceeds as planned, it would strip the W.H.O. of its largest source of funding, potentially causing significant operational disruptions. It would also mark a stark departure from the Biden administration’s approach, which emphasized global health collaboration.
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