Donald Trump’s presidential transition team is preparing for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his potential second term, according to a health law expert involved in the discussions.
“I have it on good authority that he plans to withdraw, probably on Day One or very early in his administration,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law.
The Financial Times was the first to report the plans, citing two sources. One of them, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha, was unavailable for immediate comment.
The Trump transition team also did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
The proposal aligns with Trump’s longstanding criticism of the U.N. health agency and signals a potential major shift in U.S. global health policy. This move could further isolate Washington from international efforts to combat pandemics.
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Trump has nominated several critics of the organization to key public health roles, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal vaccine skeptic, for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees major U.S. health agencies such as the CDC and FDA.
In 2020, Trump began the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO, though the decision was reversed six months later by President Joe Biden.
Trump has argued that the WHO failed to hold China accountable for the early spread of COVID-19 and has labeled the organization a “puppet” of Beijing, pledging to redirect U.S. funds to domestic health programs.
A WHO spokesperson declined to comment directly but referred to remarks made by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a Dec. 10 press briefing.
When asked about potential U.S. withdrawal, Tedros urged patience during the transition period and expressed confidence that states could finalize a pandemic agreement by May 2025.
Critics caution that U.S. withdrawal from the WHO could weaken global disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
“The U.S. would lose influence and clout in global health and China would fill the vacuum. I can’t imagine a world without a robust WHO. But U.S. withdrawal would severely weaken the agency,” Gostin said.
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