Executive Branch Foreign Relations & International Law

Trump Orders U.S. Withdrawal from International Organizations and Treaties

Tyler McBrien
Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 8:25 PM
The executive order directs executive branch departments and agencies to withdraw from over 60 international organizations and treaties.
Meet The Authors
Subscribe to Lawfare

On Jan. 7, President Donald Trump issued the executive order “Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States” directing all executive departments and agencies “to take immediate steps to effectuate the withdrawal” from a list of organizations “as soon as possible.” 

The executive order lists the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which focuses on implementing the Paris Agreement, as well as 65 other international organizations and treaties, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Global Counterterrorism Forum, International Energy Forum, Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, UN Democracy Fund, and others. 

The president determined the list of organizations after deliberating with members of the cabinet and reviewing a report completed in compliance with another executive order, issued on Feb. 4, which directed the secretary of state to review all international organizations, conventions, and treaties to which the United States is party. 

Read the executive order here or below:

Topics:
Executive Branch Foreign Relations & International Law
Back to Top
Tyler McBrien

Tyler McBrien

TylerMcBrien
tylermcbrien.com
Read More
Tyler McBrien is the managing editor of Lawfare. He previously worked as an editor with the Council on Foreign Relations and a Princeton in Africa Fellow with Equal Education in South Africa, and holds an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago.
}

Subscribe to Lawfare