CNN
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President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization, a significant move that drew criticism from public health experts on his first day back in the White House.
President Trump has long been critical of the U.N. health agency, and his administration formally began withdrawing from the WHO in July 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread. But four years ago, then-President Joe Biden, as one of his first acts after taking the White House, announced the withdrawal of the United States from the organization tasked with coordinating the international response to health emergencies. was prevented.
The text of Monday’s executive order states that “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic stemming from Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to implement urgently needed reforms, and its poor politics. “lack of ability to demonstrate independence from external influences.” WHO member states” was cited as the reason for the United States’ withdrawal.
“This is a big deal,” Trump told aides as he began signing executive orders, commenting on his decisions in 2020 and his belief that the U.S. is paying too much to the organization compared to other countries. pointed out. In 2020, President Trump consistently accused the organization of supporting China by covering up the origins of the coronavirus and allowing it to spread.
CNN has reached out to the WHO for comment.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized the WHO in 2020, when President Trump first decided to withdraw from the organization, but many condemned the president’s decision to withdraw from the organization in the midst of a once-in-a-century global pandemic. did. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “a truly stupid act.” Retired Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, then chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, also said he disagreed with President Trump’s decision.
Dr. Ashish Jha, who served as the White House coronavirus response coordinator in the Biden administration, said President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the WHO during his second term was a “strategic mistake.”
“The WHO is a very important organization, and the withdrawal of the United States creates a political vacuum that only one country can fill, and that is China,” Jha said in an interview with CNN on Monday.
He predicted that China would step up for the organization in the absence of U.S. funding or leadership, potentially resulting in “China increasing its political influence around the world.”
Lawrence Gostin, a public health law professor at Georgetown University, said in a post on X that President Trump’s withdrawal from the WHO was “the most important thing” he did on Monday.
“This is a devastating decision for the president. Withdrawal is a deep wound for global health, but it’s an even deeper wound for the United States,” he added.
Jha warned that withdrawing from the WHO would weaken the organization because it relies heavily on U.S. staff and expertise, especially in tracking influenza globally.
President Trump’s executive action calls on the Secretary of State and the Office of Management and Budget to “suspend future transfers of U.S. government funding, support, and resources” to the WHO. However, it will take one year to fully withdraw, and the United States is obligated to continue providing funding for one year.
“But who will enforce those obligations? Will Donald Trump be intimidated by global norms regarding these things?” Jha asked.
Gostin, who is also the O’Neill Chair in Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, said in a later post that the lawsuit is “riddled with legal and factual errors.”
“Mr. Trump is not waiting a year as Congress wants him to do. He is now unraveling U.S. involvement and funding, which is illegal and a grave strategic mistake.” he added.
CNN’s Jack Forrest and Meg Tyrrell contributed to this report.
