Wasteful, Ineffective, Harmful: Trump Pulls US Out Of 66 International Organisations, Including 35 UN Bodies
US has withdrawn from international organisations that "operate contrary to US national interests". Image courtesy: AI-generated picture via Sora
In yet another extreme step and perhaps one of the most far-reaching foreign policy decisions of his second term, US President Donald Trump has ordered Washington’s withdrawal from more than 60 international organisations, including several United Nations (UN) bodies. Trump’s latest move marks a dramatic escalation of his administration’s rejection of multilateral institutions and global governance frameworks.
The move, formalised through a presidential memorandum signed on Wednesday (January 7, 2025), underscores a pattern of extreme, unilateral decisions taken by Trump over the past few months as he reshapes America’s global posture under an aggressive “America First” doctrine.
Dubbing them “wasteful, ineffective, and harmful”, the US Department of Stata said that the days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over.
US exits international organisations: What has Trump ordered?
The memorandum, titled ‘Withdrawing the United States from International Organisations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States,’ directs all federal agencies to immediately end US participation in 66 international bodies. According to a White House fact sheet, the list includes 31 United Nations entities, and 35 non-UN organisations.
Trump said he had determined that continued US membership in these institutions was “contrary to America’s national interests, security, economic prosperity and sovereignty.”
The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity, the US administration said.
Which major organisations are affected?
Among the most notable exits is the International Solar Alliance (ISA)—a flagship climate initiative jointly led by India and France with more than 100 signatory countries. For UN bodies, the order means ending US participation and funding, wherever legally permissible.
Other prominent organisations affected include:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund
Multiple UN regional economic commissions
A UN spokesperson confirmed receipt of the list and said an official response would follow.
Why is the Trump administration taking this step?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the move, calling the targeted institutions “redundant, mismanaged, wasteful, poorly run and captured by actors advancing agendas contrary to American interests.”
Rubio said many international organisations had evolved into a “sprawling architecture of global governance” dominated by what he described as progressive ideology, including climate “orthodoxy”, DEI mandates, gender equity campaigns. “These organisations actively seek to constrain American sovereignty,” Rubio said.
He went on to state that President Trump is clear: It is no longer acceptable to be sending these institutions the blood, sweat, and treasure of the American people, with little to nothing to show for it.
A signal of Trump’s broader foreign policy pattern?
The withdrawals are the latest in a series of hardline decisions taken by Trump since returning to office – immediate withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement; ending US participation in the UN Human Rights Council; suspending funding to UNRWA; reviewing US membership in UNESCO; dismantling large parts of USAID, targeting what the administration calls the “NGO-plex”.
When addressing the UN General Assembly last September, Trump delivered one of his harshest critiques of the world body, questioning its relevance and effectiveness. “It’s empty words. And empty words don’t solve war,” he stated.
Trump’s sweeping exits signal a historic retreat from multilateralism by the world’s largest economy and most powerful military. The move could weaken global cooperation on climate change, undermine international development and humanitarian efforts, further strain ties with US allies who remain committed to multilateral institutions.
The decision also raises questions about the future of global initiatives once anchored by US funding and diplomatic weight.
Worth mentioning here is that the move comes almost a year after the Trump administration had announced the withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in January 2025, citing the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. The US had also withdrawn from UNESCO in July 2025, saying that the latter was not in the “national interest” of the United States.
