It isn’t as if he hasn’t already had an extraordinarily eventful day, but after church services, tea, a swearing-in, an inaugural address, another speech to supporters, a review of the troops, a luncheon, another speech, and a trek to Capital One Arena to address 20,000 supporters there and sign several executive orders, President Donald Trump headed to the Oval Office to sign even more executive orders. (After that, he’s set to attend inaugural balls.)
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And it wasn’t just that he signed a whole slew of executive orders; it’s that he did so while simultaneously shooting the breeze with reporters, discussing a wide variety of issues. It was something to behold.
Earlier in the evening, he pardoned roughly 1,500 J6 defendants and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords, a move that prompted former Vice President Al Gore to fret.
Trump Withdraws U.S. From Paris Climate Accords, Al Gore Unhappy
Promise Kept: With the Stroke of a Pen, President Trump Issues Mass Pardons for J6 Defendants
Now, he’s withdrawn the U.S. from the World Health Organization.
🚨 President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization pic.twitter.com/YyKYMP53Ur
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
The (new and improved) White House has done a solid job throughout the day of updating the website — adding in the executive orders as they were issued/signed. Here are the highlights from the order regarding the withdrawal from the WHO:
Section 1. Purpose. The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states. In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO.
Sec. 2. Actions. (a) The United States intends to withdraw from the WHO. The Presidential Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations signed on January 20, 2021, that retracted the United States’ July 6, 2020, notification of withdrawal is revoked.
…
(c) The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs shall establish directorates and coordinating mechanisms within the National Security Council apparatus as he deems necessary and appropriate to safeguard public health and fortify biosecurity.
(d) The Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall take appropriate measures, with all practicable speed, to:
(i) pause the future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO;
(ii) recall and reassign United States Government personnel or contractors working in any capacity with the WHO; and
(iii) identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO.
…
Sec. 3. Notification. The Secretary of State shall immediately inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations, any other applicable depositary, and the leadership of the WHO of the withdrawal.
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As indicated in the order, this isn’t the first time Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the WHO. He did so before, in July 2020.
However, former President Joe Biden rescinded that move on his inauguration day in 2021. Well, now the ball is back in Trump’s court, and he’s taken it and gone home — at least where the WHO is concerned.
Given the bevy of orders signed on the first day of Trump’s administration, this one may fly a bit under the radar, but it’s a marker laid down on the globalism front.
