Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds his end-of-year press conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2025. (Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)
"Even those that once performed useful functions have increasingly become inefficient bureaucracies, platforms for politicized activism or instruments contrary to our nation’s best interests. Not only do these institutions not deliver results, they obstruct action by those who wish to address these problems," Rubio added.
Rubio did not hold back in his criticism of the organizations, saying that the U.S.'s continued participation "would be an abandonment of our national duty." Additionally, the secretary emphasized that this did not mean that the U.S. was retreating from global leadership, rather that it was rejecting what the administration sees as an outdated model of multilateralism.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio whispers to President Donald Trump, who is holding the note Rubio handed to him, during a roundtable meeting on Antifa in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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The findings were presented to the president, who deliberated with his Cabinet before moving forward with the withdrawals.
In the January 2026 memorandum, Trump said Rubio's findings showed it was "contrary to the interests of the U.S. to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support" to the listed groups.
The U.N.-affiliated organizations included U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the U.N. Democracy Fund, among others. The non-U.N. groups included the International Solar Alliance and the Global Forum on Migration and Development as well as others.
Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-department-declares-international-bureaucracies-no-longer-get-blank-checks-from-us