House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats call on Trump to resume WHO funding

Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday called on President Trump to resume funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), calling his policy misguided and a distraction from the administration’s own response. 

In a letter sent to Trump, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), and 25 Democratic colleagues criticized the president’s funding freeze and ending support in the middle of a crisis. 

President Trump last week announced a 60- to 90-day halt in funding for the WHO, slamming the organization and claiming that it has a China-leaning bias. The president also criticized the health body for failing to condemn Beijing for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.  

The Democrats’ letter acknowledged shortcomings of the WHO, saying the organization is “not perfect,” but they cautioned against hobbling an organization at the helm of the global virus response. 

“This policy is profoundly misguided and appears to be an effort to scapegoat the WHO in order to deflect attention from your administration’s mismanaged and politicized response to the pandemic,” the Democrats wrote. 

“Halting funding to the WHO at this time is like cutting funding to the fire department in the middle of a blaze. Retreating from global health institutions at this time will only hinder our ability to fight the Coronavirus, thus putting our national security and American lives at risk,” the letter said.

The letter was also sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting U.S. Agency for International Development Director John Barsa.