Victory for Trump and Republicans in the Senate means the collapse of the WHO pandemic agreement

pandemic agreementA program designed to coordinate international cooperation during a disease outbreak to prevent the next pandemic has received significant support from the president. Joe Biden and democrats, despite the rocky road to gaining support from other WHO member states.

But the new Trump administration, along with congressional Republicans, is likely to take a more critical approach to international public health following the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the WHO’s failure to inform the world about the severity of the US outbreak. China in January and February 2020.

“Frankly, I wouldn’t expect the pandemic agreements to get to the finish line and be ratified or negotiated by the United States, which would really put them in jeopardy,” Jennifer Cates, a global health policy specialist at the think tank KFF, told reporters on Friday. .

target The Pandemic Agreement (formally known as the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Agreement) is intended to address weaknesses in global communications, surveillance and supply chains identified as the international community combats the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most controversial Aspects of the agreement included sharing financial responsibility for pandemic preparedness, including more open access to pathogen research, vaccines and antiviral treatments, which has raised intellectual property concerns among more economically developed countries.

The U.S. has been actively involved in pandemic deal negotiations from the outset in 2021, with Cates describing the Biden administration as “very supportive” and “very involved” in the negotiation process.”

“There aren’t that many Republicans in Congress,” Cates said.

In September check it would require Senate ratification of “any convention or agreement relating to matters relating to the pandemic” and passed the House by a vote of 219 to 199. The bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ahead of the 2024 elections.

Cates says Republicans tend to be skeptical of international agreements, especially those that might impinge on state sovereignty.

Other WHO member states expressed similar concerns about the limits on national sovereignty in the original text of the agreement.

Although WHO characterized concerns over sovereignty as a result of “the flow of fake news and disinformation and disinformation aimed at negotiating a pandemic agreement”, the draft agreement text was updated in December 2023 to emphasize that participating states would be protected by international law “to pass laws.” and apply the legislation in accordance with its health policy.”

Even with these changes, disagreements among member states during what would have been a final vote in May over the language and legal validity of the agreement led to the decision to delay the final vote until May 2025.

Cates predicted that even if a new version of the pandemic agreement passes in an international vote next year, it likely won’t have much success unless the U.S. is on board, akin to a failed pandemic agreement. League of Nationsinternational peace body founded in the 1920s to prevent World War II.

The Senate is the only body of the U.S. Congress that ratifies treaties, making Republican control of that body a major obstacle to treaty supporters.

Relations with WHO in general

Although Trump said during the campaign that he had a “blueprint” for Obamacare reform, he and his team have presented few other substantive policy proposals to signal what to expect from health care policy in his next administration, let alone on international issues. public health. .

In May 2020, Trump threatened to withdraw the United States from WHO membership along with $400 million in funding, about 15% of the organization’s operating budget. By June Trump canceled $62 million in WHO funding and set the US exit date to July 2021. Both of these decisions were quickly reversed by Biden.

Cates said she “fully expects the Trump administration to try this again,” which would be even more likely if there were Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.

Proposing broader reforms to the WHO and America’s relationship with the international body has also been a focus for congressional Republicans during the Biden years.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, led the House charge against overestimate US-WHO relations in light of the organization’s role in covering up China’s COVID-19 policies in the early stages of the pandemic.

Wenstrup, who was not running for re-election in 2024, stressed the need for the WHO to assert greater independence from the Chinese Communist Party, which is likely to remain a goal of the next Trump administration.

Although the subcommittee, as part of the House Oversight Committee, does not have jurisdiction to make laws, America’s relationship with the WHO will likely be part of the subcommittee’s final report on its investigation into the origins of the coronavirus and pandemic-era policies. . The report will likely serve as a springboard for the next legislative session.

Larry Levitt, KFF’s vice president for health policy, told reporters Friday that very little is known about Trump’s choices on most health policy issues in his next administration because he and his team were unclear on the topic during the campaign. .

“Much of what we need to do is based on what Trump accomplished during his previous term as president, as well as proposals from congressional Republicans and conservative groups,” Levitt said. “You have to read the tea leaves a lot to predict what might happen.”