Biden says he will rejoin WHO on his first day in office

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he would reverse President Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) if elected. 

The former vice president said rejoining the WHO would be one of his first steps as president. 

“Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the @WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage,” Biden tweeted Tuesday, after Trump officially moved to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO. 

Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the @WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage. https://t.co/8uazVIgPZB

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 7, 2020

A senior administration official said the U.S. submitted its withdrawal notification to the United Nations secretary-general. Withdrawal requires a year’s notice, so it would not go into effect until July 6, 2021, when Trump may no longer occupy the White House depending on the outcome of November’s election. 

The administration’s move to officially withdraw comes after months of threatening to do so. Trump has repeatedly attacked the WHO over an alleged bias toward China and its slow response to the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. 

Public health experts and Democrats have raised alarms that Trump’s move to withdraw from the WHO could undercut the global response to the virus, which has infected more than 12 million people globally, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has the highest number of reported cases with more than 3 million, according to the same database.