Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO), media reports said on Tuesday.
“Oooh, that’s a big one,” the newly inaugurated US president said as he approved the document after arriving back at the White House. It was one of dozens of executive actions he put his signature to on day one in office.
This marks the second time Trump has ordered the US be pulled out of the WHO, BBC reported on Tuesday.
According to reports, Trump was critical of how the international body handled Covid-19 and began the process of pulling out from the Geneva-based institution during the pandemic. President Joe Biden later reversed that decision.
Carrying out this executive action on day one makes it more likely the US will formally leave the global agency.
“They wanted us back so badly so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the WHO, perhaps hinting the US might return eventually.
The order said the US was withdrawing “due to the organisation’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states”.
The executive order also said the withdrawal was the result of “unfairly onerous payments” the US made to the WHO, which is part of the United Nations, the report said.
When Trump was still in office the first time around he was critical of the organization for being too “China-centric” in its tackling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to reports, Trump accused the WHO of being biased towards China in how it issued guidance during the outbreak.
Under the Biden administration the US continued to be the largest funder of the WHO and in 2023 it contributed almost one-fifth of the agency’s budget.
The organization’s annual budget is $6.8 billion (£5.5 billion).
Public health experts have been critical of Trump’s decision to leave the WHO, warning there could be consequences for Americans’ health.
Some have suggested the move could reverse progress made on fighting infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and Hiv & Aids, the report said.
Ashish Jha, who formerly worked as Covid-19 response co-ordinator under President Biden, previously warned leaving would “harm not only the health of people around the world, but also US leadership and scientific prowess.”
“It’s a cataclysmic presidential decision. Withdrawal is a grievous wound to world health, but a still deeper wound to the US,” Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert and Georgetown University professor said.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned more than 1,000 people charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and commuted the sentences of leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, media reports said.
“These are the hostages,” Trump said from the Oval Office, referring to the convicted and charged defendants. “Approximately 1,500 for a pardon – full pardon.”
The commutations cover the sentences for 14 far-right extremists from the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who were convicted or charged with seditious conspiracy, the CNN reported on Tuesday.
With the pardons, Trump has granted full clemency to hundreds of people already convicted of felony crimes like assaulting police and destroying property as part of the effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.
According to a CNN report, the “full, complete and unconditional” pardons extend to people who were convicted of some of the worst crimes committed the day of the Capitol attack.
That group includes individuals like Julian Khater, who assaulted US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick and later pled guilty to assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon; Devlyn Thompson, who hit a police officer with a metal baton; and Robert Palmer, a Florida man who attacked police with a fire extinguisher, a wooden plank and a pole.
More than 140 police officers were injured during the seven-hour siege, which also led directly and indirectly to the deaths of four Trump supporters in the mob and five police officers, the report said.
Late Monday night, two brothers convicted for their roles in the attack on the US Capitol were released from a DC jail, hours after Trump issued the sweeping set of pardons.
Andrew Valentin and Matthew Valentin, who both pleaded guilty in September to assaulting police and were each sentenced last week to two-and-a-half years in prison, walked out of the DC Central Detention Facility Monday night, according to Paul Ingrassia, who identified himself to reporters as the Trump White House’s liaison to the Justice Department.
“The first two January 6 defendants have been released,” Ingrassia told reporters gathered outside the jail. CNN previously reported that Matthew Valentin had tried to tear a baton from a police officer on January 6, and Andrew Valentin threw a chair at a police line.
More than 730 people have been convicted of misdemeanor offenses in connection with January 6, according to the latest Justice Department estimates. Further, there are about 300 prosecutions still pending in court as of Monday, including many accused of violent felony crimes, such as assaulting police. Trump’s executive order called for those charges to be dropped with prejudice.
After the attack, the Justice Department and FBI launched a nationwide manhunt to identify and arrest rioters, which turned into the biggest criminal probe in US history. Prosecutors charged more than 1,580 people and secured roughly 1,270 convictions.
About 55% of January 6 prosecutions are misdemeanor cases, with charges like disorderly conduct or trespassing, according to Justice Department data. For those convicted, the vast majority were sentenced to probation or a few months in prison and were already released.
Some defendants are elderly people who got caught up in the frenzy. Others went inside the Capitol for a handful of minutes but never attacked anyone or vandalized anything. Most have no criminal record. A large chunk of the people in the mob said they never intended to infiltrate the Capitol, let alone disrupt Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results. Some believe they were waved into the building by police.
Yet, Trump has also called January 6 “a day of love and peace” and claimed his supporters posed “zero threat.” These false claims are belied by hundreds of video clips of Trump supporters beating police with flagpoles, batons, wooden clubs and baseball bats, deploying stun guns and chemical sprays, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police officers.
The brother of US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died one day after being assaulted during the insurrection, condemned Trump’s plan to pardon many of the rioters.
Craig Sicknick recently urged supporters of a liberal advocacy group to sign a petition opposing the pardons, saying it will allow the rioters to “evade responsibility” and that “it’s just plain wrong,” according to a copy of the email obtained by CNN.
“Donald Trump and his loyalists not only celebrate the deadly mob that killed my brother — they are determined to pardon those responsible,” Craig Sicknick said in the message. “It is a betrayal to not only the families and loved ones of those who were injured and killed but to all Americans.”
Monday, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds said he remembers January 6 well and “there was violence. This was this was not peaceful. People were in harm’s way, and it was a very, very bad day for America.”
The South Dakota senator added that he acknowledged the president has the authority to issue pardons and he respects that “constitutionally,” but emphasized, “right now we’re looking forward.”
UNI
