WASHINGTON — The U.S. leaves WHO Thursday, ending U.S. participation in the World Health Organization after President Donald Trump ordered a withdrawal. The administration says the agency mishandled health crises, while critics warn the step conflicts with a 1948 law that requires one year’s notice and full payment of U.S. dues, Jan. 22, 2026.
U.S. leaves WHO as dues dispute and legal questions collide
Trump set the departure in motion with an executive order issued Jan. 20, 2025 that directed the State Department and budget officials to pause the future transfer of U.S. funds and to recall U.S. personnel working with the Geneva-based agency.
As U.S. leaves WHO, the statute at the center of the dispute — 22 U.S.C. § 290c — says the United States may withdraw on one year’s notice, but only if it meets its financial obligations in full for the organization’s current fiscal year.
WHO officials and outside observers say the U.S. still owes about $260 million in assessed fees for 2024 and 2025, according to Reuters’ reporting on the withdrawal. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters the U.S. will not make further payments before the withdrawal takes effect.
A Congressional Research Service brief has also flagged uncertainty about whether a president can withdraw without congressional approval, and how long the U.S. must keep paying assessments after notice is delivered.
WHO braces for budget crunch and 22% staff cuts
For WHO, U.S. leaves WHO is not just a diplomatic rupture. The United States has traditionally been the agency’s biggest funder, providing about 18% of overall financing, and the loss of that support has already forced program cuts and management restructuring, according to Reuters.
Internal WHO documents shared with member states project the agency will shed 2,371 jobs by June 2026 — with the workforce shrinking by up to 22% depending on how many vacant posts are filled — Reuters reported in a November 2025 story citing the presentation.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged reconsideration. “Withdrawing from the WHO is a lose for the United States, and it’s a lose for the rest of the world,” he said, according to Reuters. Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, told Reuters he does not expect a near-term U.S. return.
How U.S. leaves WHO fits a longer fight over the agency
This is not the first time Trump has tried to pull the U.S. from the global health body. In 2020, the administration moved to exit during the COVID-19 pandemic and later withheld outstanding dues, the Associated Press reported.
Even then, researchers warned that leaving would not be straightforward because the WHO constitution lacks an exit clause and because U.S. membership was conditioned on notice and payment requirements, Nature reported in 2020. President Joe Biden reversed the withdrawal notice in early 2021, restoring U.S. membership.
Now that U.S. leaves WHO again, health specialists say a prolonged absence could weaken coordination on outbreak surveillance and the sharing of technical guidance that flows through the U.N. health agency — and could reshape who sets the rules for the next global emergency. WHO member states are expected to discuss the U.S. departure at the agency’s executive board meeting in February.
