As part of a rash of executive orders completed on his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump began the nation’s exit from the World Health Organization. Here, we explain how the withdrawal would work and what it would mean,

President Donald Trump announced Monday he is withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization, a significant move on his first day back in the White House cutting ties with the United Nations’ public health agency and drawing criticism from public health experts.

President Donald Trump’s decision to end U.S. membership in the World Health Organization revives a five-year-old grudge with the WHO’s leader. Trump has long charged that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus covered up China’s responsibility for the Covid pandemic,

Public health experts say the United States’ departure could cripple the WHO’s operations or leave an opening for China to assume greater control over the agency.

Public health experts warn that pulling out of WHO, which Trump attacked for its response to COVID-19, will leave Americans more vulnerable to health threats.

On his first day back in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). He promptly suspended funding and recalled all US government personnel working with the institution.

More than half of Americans believe the U.S. benefits from its membership in the WHO. As of April 2024, 25% of U.S. adults say the country benefits a great deal from its membership, while about one-third say it benefits a fair amount. Conversely, 38% say the U.S. does not benefit much or at all from WHO membership.

This is the second time Trump tried to withdraw from WHO, with the first attempt in July 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.