Elections have consequences. It has been six months since Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time, and the number of “wins” for conservatives keeps increasing. In just the last few weeks, President Trump signed laws to defund Planned Parenthood as well as PBS and NPR. For decades, conservatives have been trying to cut off federal funding from these groups, and it has finally been achieved. The American people gained another victory on Friday, July 18, 2025, when the Trump Administration formally rejected the 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO has been working to implement its global governance scheme since the COVID-19 pandemic. Their goal was to remove existing guarantees of human rights and freedoms during “designated emergencies” (which they would define and declare), and transfer authority for managing pandemics from individual nations to the WHO through the proposed Pandemic Treaty and amendments to the International Health Regulations.
Last June, the World Health Assembly failed to adopt the treaty but did strong-armed passage of the IHR amendments by “consensus” — a procedure that violated the WHO’s own rules. The Biden Administration supported the IHR amendments that give the WHO unprecedented new powers. These regulations were set to become binding if not rejected by July 19, 2025, regardless of President Trump’s Executive Order withdrawing the US from the WHO.
But thankfully, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a Joint Statement of formal rejection by the United States of the 2024 IHR amendments. They explained, “This action delivers on our promise to the American people — to fight for Americans in the international system, protect our national sovereignty, and prevent international bureaucrats from shaping U.S. domestic policies.”
“Developed without adequate public input, these amendments expand the role of the WHO in public health emergencies, create additional authorities for the WHO for shaping pandemic declarations, and promote WHO’s ability to facilitate ‘equitable access’ of health commodities. These amendments have undue influence on our domestic health responses from WHO directives. They also fail to adequately address the WHO’s susceptibility to the political influence and censorship — most notably from China — during outbreaks,” the Secretaries’ statement reads.
This is an incredible turn of events that was almost unfathomable just a year ago. A press release by the Department of Health and Human Services echoed many of the points made by Eagle Forum and our allies in the Sovereignty Coalition. It points out that “the amended IHR would give the WHO the ability to order global lockdowns, travel restrictions, or any other measures it sees fit to respond to nebulous ‘potential public health risks.’”
Secretary Kennedy stated, “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.” He also released a video explaining in detail the reasons the U.S. must not fall under the IHR amendments, including setting the groundwork for “global medical surveillance of every human being.”
Secretary of State Rubio added, “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.”
The United States is not alone in rejecting the IHR amendments. Both Israel and Italy have also issued formal rejections. Israeli Health Minister Uriel Bosso announced that Israel will withdraw from these updated regulations, “to protect the interests of the State of Israel and expresses our full responsibility for public health” In his letter to the WHO, the Italian Minister of Health said, “Italy’s “NO” extends to the amendments that, in the name of supposedly fighting disinformation, would have affected freedom of the press and citizens’ privacy during health emergencies. We have already seen during the COVID pandemic how quickly fundamental rights and freedoms were trampled upon, so imagine what the WHO would do to orchestrate the control of information.”
We are witnessing what can be accomplished when people stand up for their freedoms and work together to influence leaders to do the right thing. We are grateful to the Trump Administration and our allies around the world for their strong stance against global governance. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is continuing negotiations on the Pandemic Treaty to cement its control over the money and power for global public health. We must remain vigilant and outspoken in our opposition to this Treaty and continue our fight for medical freedom and national sovereignty.
