The United States has formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, ending a decades-long relationship on January 22, 2026, in a move officials say was long overdue. This administration followed through on the promise to reclaim American sovereignty over public-health decisions and to stop pouring taxpayer dollars into an organization that repeatedly failed to protect our citizens.
President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order set this process in motion, and the White House made clear the decision was driven by the WHO’s mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis and its inability to reform itself. Conservatives should celebrate a government that keeps its word to the American people and refuses to subsidize foreign influence masquerading as global governance.
Practical steps followed: U.S. funding was cut, personnel reassigned, and programs once channeled through Geneva are being rerouted into bilateral partnerships and direct American-led initiatives. This administration is promising to protect Americans first while still supporting global health efforts on terms that respect our sovereignty and demand accountability.
On national television, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya — now serving in the federal health leadership cadre and a familiar voice on The Ingraham Angle — did not mince words about the WHO’s record and the need for American independence in public-health judgment. Conservatives who have long been skeptical of centralized, opaque international bureaucracies heard plainly what many scientists and citizens already felt: we cannot entrust our safety to a politicized institution.
Of course the left and the fear-mongers in the media are calling the exit “reckless,” warning about lost access to data and the diplomatic fallout, while fretting that rivals like China could fill the void. Those are predictable talking points from people who prefer global elites to American democracy; the true test will be whether the U.S. can build smarter, faster, and more accountable networks that actually protect lives without bowing to hostile regimes.
This is a patriotic moment for anyone who believes America should lead on our terms, not bankroll bureaucracy that answers to foreign powers. Now comes the hard work: insist on transparency in any new partnerships, demand results for every taxpayer dollar, and hold global actors to the same standards we expect of our own public-health officials. The choice is clear — put America first, or let global institutions dictate our fate — and today, the United States chose to stand up for its people.
