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The Trump Administration starts an official withdrawal from the World Health Organization
Senator Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tweeted the news Tuesday.
“Congress received a notification that POTUS officially withdrew the US from @ WHO in the midst of a pandemic. To call Trump’s response to the chaotic & incoherent COVID did not do it fairly. This would not protect American life or interests — it made Americans sick & America is alone, “he wrote.
A State Department official confirmed that “the notice of the withdrawal of the United States, effective July 6, 2021, has been submitted to the UN Secretary General, which is a storage area for WHO.”
The letter addressed to the UN is very short, about three sentences, a source explaining the correspondence to CNN, and it will trigger a one-year timeline of withdrawal. However, this source also warned that they could not confirm that they saw the final version of the letter.
Despite accusing the World Health Organization of “allowing” the Chinese government to cover up the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, House Republicans finally disagreed with the government’s decision to withdraw from WHO in a report released last month outlining findings for a month. investigation of the origin of the virus.
Trump initially announced his intention to withdraw from the WHO in May and consistently accused the organization of helping China cover up the origins of the virus. He also claimed that if WHO acted properly, he could institute a travel ban for people who came from China more quickly.
While the move is likely to spark a bipartisan reaction, the decision could be canceled if Trump loses the November presidential election, a point repeated by a UN diplomat Tuesday.
“Whatever is done now can be reversed in the coming year, because it will not be final,” the UN diplomat said, referring to how long the withdrawal process would take.
Trump’s decision to permanently sever US relations with WHO follows a pattern of railing against global organizations for years, with the President claiming that the US is benefiting. The president has questioned US funding for the UN and NATO, was withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement and repeatedly criticized the World Trade Organization.
But health experts, US lawmakers and world leaders have expressed concern at the organization’s deforestation amid a pandemic.
After Trump’s announcement in May, a WHO spokesman told CNN, “We have no comments to offer at this time.”
Jennifer Hansler from CNN contributed to this report.
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