Here’s What to Know About US Withdrawal From the WHO

The executive order cites the global health agency’s ’mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China.’

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference on the World Health Organization's 75th anniversary in Geneva on April 6, 2023. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

On the first day in office of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), making good on a project from his first administration.

Trump’s Jan. 20 order halted U.S. funding to the United Nations body, citing the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China,” as well as other global health concerns.