The Trump administration on Friday issued a formal rejection of the 2024 International Health Regulations Amendments by the World Health Organization, which would give the international body power to issue global lockdowns, travel restrictions, and more over “potential public health risks.”
“The proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations open the door to the kind of narrative management, propaganda, and censorship that we saw during the COVID pandemic,” Secretary Kennedy said in a statement. “The United States can cooperate with other nations without jeopardizing our civil liberties, without undermining our Constitution, and without ceding away America’s treasured sovereignty.”
The proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations open the door to the kind of narrative management, propaganda, and censorship that we saw during the COVID pandemic. The United States can cooperate with other nations without jeopardizing our civil liberties,… pic.twitter.com/k9IWRavu9D
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) July 18, 2025
The IHR is an international legal agreement that has been adopted by all 194 WHO member states and includes an outline to “rights and responsibilities” of the organization and governments in handling global health emergencies like pandemics.
Member states decided to review and potentially amend the IHR in 2022 in light of the challenges that arose among the international community in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to health nonprofit KFF.
The WHO formally approved a of number revisions to the IHR last year but did not come to a consensus on a pandemic agreement until earlier this year. (The Hill)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the Trump administration will always put Americans first.
“Terminology throughout the amendments to the 2024 International Health Regulations is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions,” Rubio said. “Our Agencies have been and will continue to be clear: we will put Americans first in all our actions and we will not tolerate international policies that infringe on Americans’ speech, privacy, or personal liberties.”
Today the U.S. rejected the 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations, delivering on the Trump Administration’s promise to fight for Americans in the international system. @StateDept and @HHSGov are working together to ensure our national sovereign right to make…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 18, 2025
"These regulations are set to become binding if not rejected by July 19, 2025, regardless of the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO," HHS said in its statement.
