The move makes Illinois the second U.S. state to join the program in defiance of Republican President Donald Trump after California, also led by a Democratic governor, joined in January. The U.S. formally left the WHO last month after completing a one-year waiting period following an executive order that Trump signed on his first day back in office in January 2025.
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Illinois will join WHO’s outbreak response network in defiance of Trump
February 5, 2026The move makes Illinois the second U.S. state to join the program in defiance of Republican President Donald Trump after California, also led by a Democratic governor, joined in January. The U.S. formally left the WHO last month after completing a one-year waiting period following an executive order that Trump signed on his first day back in office in January 2025.