Trump Says He’ll Halt World Health Organization Funding — But Can He?

The WHO has defended its response to the coronavirus pandemic after President Trump threatened to pull U.S. funding, but it’s still unclear if that is within the president’s authority.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the daily briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in the Rose Garden at the White House April 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the daily briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in the Rose Garden at the White House April 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images


President Trump said Tuesday that he’s instructing his administration to halt funding to the World Health Organization, pending a review, after he publicly feuded with the head of the United Nations agency over its response to the coronavirus crisis. It is unclear how he will withhold congressionally-approved money.

The announcement quickly attracted criticism from health care organizations and Democrats, and many world leaders have defended the WHO. The American Medical Association called the move “a step in the wrong direction,” and billionaire Bill Gates, who is a major WHO donor, called the fund suspension “as dangerous as it sounds.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the move “senseless.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the White House said the WHO had “failed” the American people.

“The American people deserve better from the WHO, and no more funding will be provided until its mismanagement, cover-ups, and failures can be investigated,” it reads.

Trump said he will halt the funds while awaiting a review of what he described as the WHO’s “role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of coronavirus." He also said the review would be in a “60 to 90 day” period.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the WHO’s objection to the travel restriction from China that he introduced on Jan. 31, saying that his restrictions saved “untold numbers of lives.” The WHO has advised against curbing international travel as recently as February.

He did not address his administration’s lack of public response to the pandemic from late January to March 13, when he officially declared a national emergency. The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30. Trump did also not address his reluctance in fully invoking the critically-needed Defense Production Act. Trump instead defended any actions his administration did take, and he has been combative with reporters who asked about what he did during that time period.

The U.S. is currently the largest contributor to WHO, with Congress having already authorized $122 million for the organization for this fiscal year. While Trump had already proposed cutting the allocation to $58 million, Congress would be “unlikely to authorize” such a move during a pandemic, meaning it’s “uncertain” how the administration will follow through on its claim of withholding funding, according to CNBC. NPR reported that the U.S. contribution to the WHO is likely much greater than its assessed contributions and can be dependent on global health crises and U.S. political concerns.

WHO last week defended its response to the coronavirus pandemic after Trump threatened to pull U.S. funding. Trump claimed the organization hadn’t been aggressive enough in confronting the virus, saying, “They called it wrong. They called it wrong. They really, they missed the call. They could have called it months earlier.” Trump also accused the WHO of being “China-centric” and repeated that claim again on Tuesday.

Trump isn’t alone in his critical views of the WHO’s response to the virus. The Wall Street Journal editorial board published a scathing op-ed accusing the WHO of bias towards China in its early messaging on the virus, and calling Tedros a “politician, not a doctor.” The Chinese government has been accused of concealing the extent of the outbreak and silencing whistleblowers. Some critics have also said that the WHO’s delay in categorizing the virus as a pandemic deprived countries of critical time to prepare for the influx of infected patients.

No other country has said they’re pulling funding during the pandemic.