US will exit 66 international organizations as it further retreats from
global cooperation
[January 08, 2026]
By MATTHEW LEE and FARNOUSH AMIRI
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will withdraw from dozens of
international organizations, including the U.N.'s population agency and
the U.N. treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, as
the U.S. further retreats from global cooperation.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending
U.S. support for 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions, following
his administration’s review of participation in and funding for all
international organizations, including those affiliated with the United
Nations, according to a White House release.
Many of the targets are U.N.-related agencies, commissions and advisory
panels that focus on climate, labor, migration and other issues the
Trump administration has categorized as catering to diversity and “woke”
initiatives. Other non-U.N. organizations on the list include the
Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the Global Counterterrorism
Forum.
“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,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Trump's decision to withdraw from organizations that foster cooperation
among nations to address global challenges comes as his administration
has launched military efforts or issued threats that have rattled allies
and adversaries alike, including capturing autocratic Venezuelan leader
Nicolás Maduro and indicating an intention to take over Greenland.
US builds on pattern of exiting global agencies
The administration previously suspended support for agencies like the
World Health Organization, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees
known as UNRWA, the U.N. Human Rights Council and the U.N. cultural
agency UNESCO. It has taken a larger, à la carte approach to paying dues
to the world body, picking which operations and agencies it believes
align with Trump’s agenda and those that no longer serve U.S. interests.
“I think what we’re seeing is the crystallization of the U.S. approach
to multilateralism, which is ‘my way or the highway,’” said Daniel Forti,
head of U.N. affairs at the International Crisis Group. “It's a very
clear vision of wanting international cooperation on Washington’s own
terms.”
It has marked a major shift from how previous administrations — both
Republican and Democratic — have dealt with the U.N., and it has forced
the world body, already undergoing its own internal reckoning, to
respond with a series of staffing and program cuts.
Many independent nongovernmental agencies — some that work with the
United Nations — have cited many project closures because of the U.S.
administration’s decision last year to slash foreign assistance through
the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.
Despite the massive shift, Trump administration officials say they see
the potential of the U.N. and want to instead focus taxpayer money on
expanding American influence in many of the standard-setting U.N.
initiatives where there is competition with China, like the
International Telecommunications Union, the International Maritime
Organization and the International Labor Organization.
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United States' Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz
addresses the Security Council Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 at U.N.
headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The latest global organizations the US is departing
The withdrawal from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change,
or UNFCCC, is the latest effort by Trump and his allies to distance
the U.S. from international organizations focused on climate and
addressing climate change.
UNFCCC, the 1992 agreement between 198 countries to financially
support climate change activities in developing countries, is the
underlying treaty for the landmark Paris climate agreement. Trump —
who calls climate change a hoax — withdrew from that agreement soon
after reclaiming the White House.
Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Adviser, said
being the only country in the world not part of the treaty is
“shortsighted, embarrassing, and a foolish decision.”
“This Administration is forfeiting our country’s ability to
influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and
decisions that would have advanced our economy and protected us from
costly disasters wreaking havoc on our country,” McCarthy, who
co-chairs America Is All In, a coalition of climate-concerned U.S.
states and cities, said in a statement.
Mainstream scientists say climate change is behind increasing
instances of deadly and costly extreme weather, including flooding,
droughts, wildfires, intense rainfall events and dangerous heat.
The U.S. withdrawal could hinder global efforts to curb greenhouse
gases because it “gives other nations the excuse to delay their own
actions and commitments,” said Stanford University climate scientist
Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, a group of
scientists that tracks countries’ carbon dioxide emissions.
It will also be difficult to achieve meaningful progress on climate
change without cooperation from the U.S., one of the world’s largest
emitters and economies, experts said.
The U.N. Population Fund, the agency providing sexual and
reproductive health worldwide, has long been a lightning rod for
Republican opposition, and Trump cut funding for it during his first
term. He and other GOP officials have accused the agency of
participating in “coercive abortion practices” in countries like
China.
When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, he restored
funding for the agency. A State Department review conducted the
following year found no evidence to support GOP claims.
Other organizations and agencies that the U.S. will quit include the
Carbon Free Energy Compact, the United Nations University, the
International Cotton Advisory Committee, the International Tropical
Timber Organization, the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the
Pan-American Institute for Geography and History, the International
Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies, and the
International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
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Amiri reported from the United Nations. Associated Press writer
Tammy Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan.
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