President Trump Pulls US Out of WHO

President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). The decision, which has elicited widespread criticism from public health experts, has been in the pipeline.

In July 2020, President Trump took some major steps to withdraw from the agency, but after he lost the 2020 election to former President Joseph Biden Jr., the latter blocked it from going into effect.

To cement this move this time, Trump cited the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, failure to implement reforms and alleged political influence.

Related: Breaking: Trump Sworn In As 47th US President

According to public health experts, the decision may undermine the US’s position as a global health leader.

In an executive order issued about eight hours after he took the oath of office, Trump claimed that WHO demands “unfairly onerous payments” from the United States and complained that China pays less.