Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Trump considers rejoining WHO if reforms occur, following US exit over COVID-19 handling. US remains WHO's largest funder.
By Nandita Bose and Kanishka Singh
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Saturday he may consider rejoining the World Health Organization, days after ordering a U.S. exit from the global health agency over what he described as a mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
"Maybe we would consider doing it again, I don't know. Maybe we would. They would have to clean it up," Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas.
The U.S. is scheduled to leave the WHO on Jan. 22, 2026. Trump announced the move on Monday after he was sworn in for a second term in the White House.
The U.S. is by far the biggest financial backer of the WHO, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. The WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.
Trump told the crowd in Las Vegas he was unhappy that the U.S. paid more into the WHO than China, which has a much bigger population.
He added that he will ask Saudi Arabia to make an investment of about $1 trillion in the U.S., up from the $600 billion the Saudis have pledged to invest.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump in the past week that the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment and trade with the U.S. over the next four years.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Las Vegas and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Paul Simao)
The main topic is Trump's consideration of rejoining the World Health Organization if reforms are made.
The US left the WHO due to Trump's dissatisfaction with its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crises.
The US is the largest financial contributor to the WHO, providing around 18% of its funding.
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