President Trump escalated his America First agenda Wednesday by ordering the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations the administration deems wasteful and contrary to national interests. The move, formalized through a presidential memorandum, directs federal agencies to immediately halt participation in and funding of dozens of global entities.
The America First directive follows a State Department review initiated earlier this year under Executive Order 14199. According to the White House, the withdrawals cover 35 non-United Nations organizations and 31 United Nations entities. President Trump said he reviewed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s findings and concluded it is “contrary to the interests of the U.S. to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support” to the listed organizations.
The memorandum orders executive departments and agencies to carry out the withdrawals as soon as legally possible. For U.N.-affiliated bodies, the administration will cease participation or funding to the extent permitted by law. The White House said reviews of additional organizations are ongoing.
Secretary Rubio framed the decision as a fulfillment of a core campaign promise. “Today, President Trump announced the U.S. is leaving 66 anti-American, useless, or wasteful international organizations,” Rubio said. He added that many of the institutions were “redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own.”
Rubio criticized the financial burden on taxpayers, saying, “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.” He also emphasized a shift in diplomatic posture. “We will not continue expending resources… in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests,” Rubio said.
The organizations span areas including climate, migration, governance, development, and gender policy, according to the White House, which released the full list alongside the order.
