President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he may consider rejoining the World Health Organization (WHO), a few days after ordering the United States’ withdrawal from the global health agency. Trump had criticized WHO for what he described as the misuse of the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises, as reported by Reuters.
“Maybe we would consider doing it again, I don’t know. Maybe we would. They would have to clean it up,” President Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas.
The U.S. is currently scheduled to officially exit WHO by January 22, 2026. Trump had announced the withdrawal in June 2020, citing the organization’s handling of the pandemic. This move came shortly after he was sworn in for his second term in the White House.
As the largest financial contributor to WHO, the U.S. has historically provided around 18% of its overall funding. The most recent WHO budget for 2024-2025 was $6.8 billion.
At the Las Vegas rally, Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the U.S. pays more to WHO than China, a country with a much larger population. He also remarked that he would ask Saudi Arabia to increase its investments in the U.S. by about $1 trillion, up from the $600 billion the Saudis have already committed.
Last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump that the kingdom aims to invest $600 billion in expanded investments and trade with the U.S. over the next four years.
