President Donald Trump has directed the United States to pull out of 66 international organisations, a decision that represents a major shift in Washington’s approach to multilateral engagement.
The order was issued on Wednesday through a Presidential Memorandum, following an internal review by the administration of America’s involvement in global institutions. The White House described the move as part of a broader effort to refocus U.S. foreign policy on what it considers national priorities.
In a Fact Sheet released on January 7, 2026, the administration said the organisations targeted for withdrawal no longer align with US interests.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations that no longer serve American interests,” the White House said on it website.
Under the directive, all executive departments and agencies have been instructed to halt participation in and funding for 35 non-United Nations bodies and 31 UN-affiliated entities. According to the administration, these organisations operate “contrary to US national interests, security, economic prosperity, or sovereignty.”
The decision followed a comprehensive review launched earlier in the year into “all international intergovernmental organisations, conventions, and treaties that the United States is a member of or party to, or that the United States funds or supports.”
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The White House said the withdrawals are aimed at cutting off taxpayer funding for institutions it believes place global priorities ahead of American needs.
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“These withdrawals will end American taxpayer funding and involvement in entities that advance globalist agendas over U.S. priorities, or that address important issues inefficiently or ineffectively such that U.S. taxpayer dollars are best allocated in other ways,” the statement further read.
Casting the policy as a defense of national sovereignty, the administration said Trump is moving to “end US participation in international organisations that undermine America’s independence and waste taxpayer dollars on ineffective or hostile agendas.”
The White House also accused several of the organisations of pushing policies it says conflict with U.S. values and economic interests.
“Many of these bodies promote radical climate policies, global governance, and ideological programs that conflict with US sovereignty and economic strength,” the Fact Sheet stated.
It further argued that American financial contributions to the organisations have not produced meaningful benefits.
“American taxpayers have spent billions on these organisations with little return, while they often criticise US policies, advance agendas contrary to our values, or waste taxpayer dollars by purporting to address important issues but not achieving any real results,” the administration said.
According to the White House, the withdrawals are intended to reduce spending and redirect resources toward domestic priorities, saying the president is “saving taxpayer money and refocusing resources on America First priorities.”
