US Quitting UNESCO Again, Second Time Under Trump Administration

Last Updated:July 22, 2025, 19:29 IST

The US has now pulled out of UNESCO for the third time and second time under the Trump administration.

US pulls out of UNESCO again (Reuters Image)

The United States on Tuesday announced that it will pull out of UNESCO, only two years after rejoining, for the third time, citing its anti-Israel bias.

“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO — which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November," White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly told the New York Post.

However, UNESCO and the White House have not confirmed the US move so far.

This will be the third time that the US would quit UNESCO, based in Paris, and the second time during the Trump administration.

Previously, Trump had pulled out during his first term, and the US rejoined the organisation after a five-year period when the Joe Biden administration applied to return to UNESCO.

This decision will take effect at the end of December 2026, The Washington Times reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron reacted to the development and said that the US withdrawal will not weaken their commitment.

“Unwavering support for UNESCO, a universal guardian of science, the Ocean, education, culture, and world heritage. The withdrawal of the United States will not weaken our commitment alongside those who lead this fight," Macron said.

The US decision is not likely to surprise UNESCO officials, as they had already expected it after the Trump administration ordered a special review earlier this year. They also believed Trump might withdraw again because it was his political rival, former President Joe Biden, who had brought the US back into UNESCO in 2023.

In 2017, the Trump administration said the US would leave UNESCO, claiming the agency was biased against Israel. The withdrawal became official in 2018. Both the US and Israel had already stopped funding UNESCO back in 2011, after it accepted Palestine as a member.

Before that, the US had also left UNESCO in 1984 during President Reagan’s time, saying the agency was poorly run, corrupt, and supported Soviet interests. The US rejoined in 2003 when George W Bush was President.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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