In a historic move, President Donald Trump has formally withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). The United Nations agency is facing intense scrutiny and criticism after its failure to help in preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Sen. Robert Menendez, a ranking member on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, shared on Twitter that the administration has decided to pull out from the WHO. “Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic. To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn’t do it justice. This won’t protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone.”

Back in May, President Trump announced that the United States would be cutting its ties with the WHO. He cited its complicity with China’s attempt to cover up the origin of the coronavirus and the true extent of the epidemic within its borders. The duplicity made it possible for the virus to become a full-blown pandemic that has spread all over the world.

The President said that China has total control of the organization, although it was only paying $40 million each year to fund the U.N. health arm. The United States’ contribution was more than ten times and at $450 million annually.

Back in January, the WHO was singing China praises for what it claims is a swift response to the virus. The country even built a hospital in a matter of days, in a highly publicized stunt. In reality, China did not really share all the information needed to assess the seriousness of the epidemic. They were not giving vital information that would have helped the world to prepare more effectively.

China did not release the genetic map of the virus even though it had it for more than a week. It seems that they were trying everything that they can do to delay the sharing of information. Some speculated that it was a deliberate move on China’s part to have the rest of the world infected so that it will not be alone in taking the economic hit.

Now, the WHO will have to get its funding from other countries once the United States has fully withdrawn. The withdrawal is set to take effect next year, and it will have a significant effect on WHO’s budget.