The Trump administration has formally rejected the World Health Organization’s 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations, according to statements released Thursday by the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The amendments were designed to strengthen global preparedness for future pandemics, introducing new measures such as a dedicated “pandemic emergency” category, expanded information-sharing between nations, and provisions aimed at ensuring equitable access to medical supplies for developing countries. The Biden Administration had initially supported the drafting of these changes during international negotiations in Geneva. They were ultimately finalized in 2024 after the US had exited the negotiation process.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the rejection, citing serious concerns over national sovereignty and the potential for undue influence by the WHO over domestic health policies. They also criticized the process as lacking meaningful public input and transparency.
“This administration will never cede control over American public health decisions to unelected international bureaucrats,” Rubio said in a joint statement with Kennedy. “We will always defend the rights of the American people to self-determination.”
Administration officials raised alarms about ambiguous language in the amendments that they argued could open the door to censorship of public discourse, as well as the possible imposition of digital health documentation systems or vaccine passports that could compromise Americans’ privacy rights. They also expressed fears that the amendments could be interpreted to allow the WHO to recommend lockdowns or travel restrictions, although the WHO has clarified it does not have the authority to enforce such actions, and the final amendments specifically preserved national sovereignty.
The rejection follows President Trump’s broader efforts to distance the United States from the WHO, culminating in his January 20, 2025, executive order to withdraw from the global health body. Trump cited the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and alleged undue influence by China as justification for the withdrawal.
The move is seen as a necessary defense of American autonomy.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed “regret” over the US decision, warning that the rejection could undermine coordinated global responses to future pandemics.
In earlier statements, Ghebreyesus has expressed the communist notion that health care is an absolute human right and that all humans on the planet are entitled to the same level of health care: “Health cannot be a question of income; it is a fundamental human right,” he said, quoting Nelson Mandela, a devout Marxist. Such a theory would ultimately lead to the United States and wealthier nations being responsible for the health of 8.2 billion people, regardless of their location, lifestyle choices, or medical history.
