United States Withdraws from 66 International Organizations

Washington, Jan 8, 2026 — The United States has announced its withdrawal from 66 international organizations, including 31 bodies affiliated with the United Nations, following an executive order signed by President Donald J. Trump.
The decision was confirmed on Wednesday (Jan 7) by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the move was taken after a comprehensive review concluded that the organizations no longer serve American national interests and, in some cases, threaten US sovereignty.
According to the statement, the withdrawals were carried out under Executive Order 14199, which authorized a reassessment of Washington’s participation in multilateral institutions. The review found many of the organizations to be ineffective, poorly managed, and driven by narrow ideological agendas rather than tangible outcomes.
Rubio said President Trump had made it clear that American taxpayers’ money would no longer be spent on institutions that provide “no real benefit” to the United States.
“The era of spending billions of dollars of hard-earned American tax money on foreign interests is over,” Rubio said, adding that the administration would not continue to invest diplomatic and financial capital in bodies that conflict with US priorities.
The statement argued that while many international organizations were originally established to promote peace and cooperation, they have evolved into an expansive system of global governance. It accused several institutions of focusing excessively on progressive ideology, climate activism, and gender equity campaigns at the expense of core national interests.
Rubio further alleged that some of these organizations seek to limit US sovereignty and described the move as part of a broader effort to dismantle what he called a multilateral “NGO-plex,” following the administration’s decision to shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
However, the statement noted that the United States would continue to cooperate with international bodies where such engagement clearly serves the interests of the American people.
The White House has published a full list of the 66 organizations on its website. These include UN entities such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Women, the UN Population Fund, and the UN Conference on Trade and Development, as well as non-UN organizations like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The administration said additional international organizations remain under review, signaling that further withdrawals may follow.