Trump's Decision to Withdraw from WHO Jeopardizes Global Health and American Safety

A potential bird flu pandemic won't respect borders

It’s official. The United States is seeking to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Though this move had been rumored for a while, it was never abundantly clear that the Trump administration would actually move forward with it, especially on day one. To be sure, Trump tried to pull out of the WHO back in 2020. However, that decision at the time reflected the politics of the moment: Trump very transparently sought to shift blame for his own incompetent handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. His order calling for the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO was also premised on a number of lies.

Apparently, though, he still holds a grudge. And this grudge may come back to harm the United States.

The executive order released on Monday night would do several things to kneecap the WHO. First, it pauses all U.S. funding to the organization. This is a huge blow. The United States is the WHO’s largest funder, accounting for nearly 18% of its $6.8 billion two-year budget, or about $1.2 billion. If …