Donald Trump’s transition team seeks to withdraw US from WHO on ‘Day One’
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Donald Trump’s transition team is pushing for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of the new administration, experts say, warning it would have a “catastrophic” impact on global health.
Members of Trump’s team have told experts they intend to announce their withdrawal from global health agencies during the president-elect’s January 20 inauguration. The departure would eliminate the WHO’s largest source of funding and harm its ability to respond to public health crises such as the coronavirus pandemic.
“The United States will leave a huge vacuum in global health financing and leadership. I don’t think anyone will fill it.
The battle over the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization erupted after Trump nominated several allies, including vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, to top health posts in the next administration. However, Gostin said he was not sure Trump would make an immediate troop withdrawal a top priority, as some on his team did.
The United States is the WHO’s largest single donor, providing about 16% of funding in 2022-23.
In 2020, as Covid-19 spread, Trump initiated the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization, accusing the agency of being controlled by China. But the process never ended, and his successor, Joe Biden, restarted relations with the agency on his first day in office in 2021.
Experts have learned that some in Trump’s team wanted to move faster this time after starting the process immediately.
Ashish Jha, Biden’s former White House COVID-19 response coordinator and dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said the transition team wanted Trump to withdraw on day one because of the “symbolic significance” of reversing Biden’s own Inauguration Day actions.
“There are a lot of people who are going to be part of the government’s inner circle who don’t trust the WHO and want to symbolically show on day one that they’re out,” he said.
He added that some on the team want to stay with the organization and push for reform, but another group that believes in cutting ties is winning the argument.
Jia said agencies such as the World Health Organization are critical for global cooperation on vaccine development and distribution and other treatments during health emergencies.
“If you’re not engaged with these institutions, you won’t be informed when the next outbreak occurs,” he warned.
“The World Health Organization will face a very difficult few years as it will struggle to respond to health emergencies and will have to significantly reduce its scientific staff,” Gostin said.
He warned that if the United States withdraws from the WHO, European countries are unlikely to increase funding and China may try to exert greater influence. “This is not a wise move because withdrawing would cede leadership to China,” he said.
The Trump transition team has not commented directly on a possible troop withdrawal. One person familiar with the plan told the Financial Times: “Who is the WHO we left behind in the first government? It seems we don’t care too much about what they have to say.
The World Health Organization had no comment. The agency’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said this month it was a “unique organization” that wanted to work with U.S. policymakers.
“From our side, we are ready to work together,” he said. “I believe American leaders understand that America cannot be safe unless the rest of the world is safe.”
