Caitlyn Stulpin
2026-01-23 18:28:00
January 23, 2026
3 min read
Key takeaways:
- President Donald J. Trump announced plans to withdrawal from WHO last January.
- As of Thursday, all funding has ceased and personnel have been withdrawn.
On Thursday, HHS announced that the United States has completed its withdrawal from WHO.
The process began a year ago when President Donald J. Trump, on the night of his inauguration, announced plans to leave WHO, complaining that the agency demanded too much in funding — around $130 million per year in membership fees in 2024 and 2025, according to documents posted online by WHO.
This revoked a letter that Joe Biden sent WHO at the start of his presidency in 2021, which reversed Trump’s July 2020 announcement that the U.S. would withdraw its support.
In a joint statement, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the withdrawal is a response to what they called “WHO’s failures during the COVID-19 pandemic” and “seeks to rectify the harm from those failures inflicted on the American people.”
“Promises made, promises kept,” the statement read.
They said U.S. engagement with WHO going forward will be “limited strictly to effectuate our withdrawal and to safeguard the health and safety of the American people,” and that as of Thursday, all U.S. funding and staffing at WHO have ceased.
Ronald G. Nahass, MD, MHCM, FIDSA, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, issued a statement calling the withdrawal “shortsighted” and a “misguided abandonment” of global health commitments. The withdrawal will also put the U.S. at a higher risk from emerging threats, for which Nahass said international tracking is essential.
“Global cooperation and communication are critical to keep our own citizens protected because germs do not respect borders,” Nahass said.
Now that the split is complete, what if a future administration wanted to rejoin WHO? We spoke with Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, a professor and founding director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, about the withdrawal and what would be required to reverse it.
Healio: What happens if this administration, or another administration in the future, decides the U.S. wants back in?
Gostin: I think it is nearly impossible to envisage that Trump would rejoin. It is possible that a future Democratic president would rejoin, but that is not even certain. If a new president decided to rejoin, he or she could do so unilaterally without the consent of Congress. As Trump unilaterally withdrew, I think it is likely a new president would not be obliged to consult Congress.
Healio: How does that process work?
Gostin: A new president could do so by sending a letter to the United Nations Secretary General giving his or her intent to rejoin.
Healio: What would it cost?
Gostin: I think WHO would ask the U.S. to pay all of its financial obligations before rejoining. That is about $280 million right now.
Healio: What happens if the U.S. just does not pay?
Gostin: President Trump is in clear violation of U.S. federal law. When we joined WHO in 1948, Congress passed a law saying we could withdraw only if we paid all of our financial obligations. That law is clear and ambiguous. The president has violated the law, but Congress has not pushed back.
Healio: Would WHO be keen to let the U.S. back in without assurances that this will not happen again?
Gostin: Yes, I believe WHO would welcome the U.S. back into membership. It is good for the U.S. and good for WHO. The U.S. not only brings major funding to WHO but our agencies like the CDC and NIH have unrivaled scientific expertise.
For more information:
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, can be reached at [email protected].
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Healio Interviews
References:
Disclosures:
Gostin reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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