The move, announced through a presidential memorandum, targets entities ranging from UN climate bodies to democracy promotion groups that the administration has deemed “wasteful, ineffective, or harmful” to American interests.

“I have determined that it is contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support to the organizations listed in section 2 of this memorandum,” Trump wrote in the directive issued.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the president’s concerns in a forceful statement, declaring: “It is no longer acceptable to be sending these institutions the blood, sweat, and treasure of the American people, with little to nothing to show for it. The days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over.”

The withdrawal list includes 31 UN entities and 35 non-UN organizations.

Among the most prominent are the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the International Renewable Energy Agency, signaling a dramatic shift away from multilateral climate cooperation.

Also targeted for exit: UN Women (the Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women), the UN Population Fund, and multiple UN economic commissions serving Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.

The directive stems from Executive Order 14199, which Trump issued in February 2025, mandating a comprehensive review of all international organizations receiving U.S. funding or participation.

In his memorandum, Trump noted that he had “considered the Secretary of State’s report and, after deliberating with my Cabinet,” reached his conclusions.

Significantly, Trump indicated the purge may not be finished.

“My review of further findings of the Secretary of State remains ongoing,” he wrote, suggesting additional withdrawals could be forthcoming.

The president ordered all executive departments and agencies to “take immediate steps to effectuate the withdrawal of the United States from the organizations listed” as soon as legally possible.

In his statement, Rubio framed the withdrawals as a rejection of an overreaching international system that has strayed from its original mission.

“What started as a pragmatic framework of international organizations for peace and cooperation has morphed into a sprawling architecture of global governance, often dominated by progressive ideology and detached from national interests,” the Secretary of State said.

Rubio specifically criticized what he described as institutional overreach: “From DEI mandates to ‘gender equity’ campaigns to climate orthodoxy, many international organizations now serve a globalist project rooted in the discredited fantasy of the ‘End of History.’ These organizations actively seek to constrain American sovereignty.”

The administration linked the withdrawals to its broader foreign policy overhaul, with Rubio noting that the work of these organizations “is advanced by the same elite networks—the multilateral ‘NGO-plex’—that we have begun dismantling through the closure of USAID.”

The Trump administration has characterized the targeted organizations as “redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity.”

The sweeping nature of the pullout extends beyond climate and gender-focused bodies to include counterterrorism forums, cultural preservation groups, and even technical cooperation bodies.

The withdrawal list encompasses the Global Counterterrorism Forum, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Freedom Online Coalition, and the Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories.

Among the UN bodies slated for U.S. exit are offices focused on children in conflict zones, sexual violence prevention, and violence against children, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict, the Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and the Office of the Special Representative on Violence Against Children.

Also on the list: the UN Democracy Fund, the Peacebuilding Commission and Fund, UN Conference on Trade and Development, and various UN training and research institutes.

Rubio laid out the administration’s philosophy going forward: “We will not continue expending resources, diplomatic capital, and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests. We reject inertia and ideology in favor of prudence and purpose. We seek cooperation where it serves our people and will stand firm where it does not.”

The memorandum specifies that for UN entities, withdrawal means ceasing participation in or funding to those entities to the extent permitted by law, and that implementation will be consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

The State Department will provide additional implementation guidance to federal agencies as the withdrawals proceed, according to the directive.

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“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump declared from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Washington has indicted Maduro on narco-terrorism charges, but the Venezuelan government has said for months that Trump and the U.S. were seeking to take the country’s vast natural resources.

Venezuela sits atop a staggering 303 billion barrels of oil, roughly 17 percent of global reserves.

Yet the country currently produces only about 1.1 million barrels per day, a fraction of the 3.5 million barrels it pumped in the late 1990s before socialist governments under Hugo Chávez and Maduro nationalized the industry and allowed it to deteriorate.

Trump’s pitch centers on reclaiming what he characterized as stolen American assets.

“We built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, drive and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us,” he asserted, referencing the 1970s nationalization that cost US companies billions in assets.

Despite Trump’s confident proclamations, major American oil companies have responded with notable silence or carefully worded statements.

Chevron, the only US energy giant currently operating in Venezuela, issued a bland statement emphasizing employee safety and regulatory compliance.

ConocoPhillips said it was monitoring developments but called it “premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments.”

According to Politico, the Trump administration had already asked US oil companies if they were interested in returning to Venezuela, but the companies firmly declined.

The hesitation is rooted in cold economics and geopolitical uncertainty.

Venezuela’s oil is extra-heavy crude, thick, viscous, and expensive to extract and refine. While US Gulf Coast refineries were built specifically to handle this type of oil, the infrastructure in Venezuela has been neglected for decades.

“The issue is not just that the infrastructure is in bad shape, but it’s mostly about how do you get foreign companies to start pouring money in before they have a clear perspective on the political stability, the contract situation and the like,” explained Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American energy program at Rice University.

Adding to companies’ wariness is the current global oil glut, with prices too low to justify the massive investment required. Nearby Guyana offers a more attractive alternative, lighter crude, lower taxes, and no state oil company to navigate.

The situation evokes uncomfortable parallels to post-invasion Iraq, where it took nearly two decades to revitalize the oil industry despite US involvement.

Trump’s declaration that the US would temporarily “run the country” raised more questions than answers.

While Secretary of State Marco Rubio later walked back suggestions of long-term occupation, uncertainty about Venezuela’s political transition remains the elephant in the boardroom.

The geopolitical stakes are significant. Revitalizing Venezuelan oil could pressure Russia, which competes for the same heavy crude market, and reduce China’s influence in the country.

But whether American companies will risk their capital on Trump’s vision, or wait for clearer signals from Venezuela’s murky political future remains the billion-dollar question.

For now, the world’s largest oil reserves sit in limbo, caught between a president’s ambitions and an industry’s cold calculation of risk versus reward.

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State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken directly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to begin preparations for the anticipated meeting.

“I can confirm for you that Secretary Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov… regarding preparation for the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Bruce said.

“Both sides confirmed their commitment to a successful event. I can also tell you that it was President Putin who called to make this arrangement.”

Bruce emphasized that President Trump views the engagement as exploratory rather than a negotiation, aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

“The President is not calling this a negotiation,” she said. “This is really a feel-out meeting… to see exactly what was possible.”

Quoting President Trump directly, Bruce relayed his position on the Ukraine conflict: “I’m going to meet with President Putin. And we’re going to see what he has in mind,” Trump said.

“And if it’s a fair deal, I’ll reveal it to the European Union leaders, and to the NATO leaders, and also to President Zelenskyy… And then I’ll call them afterwards.”

“The death is incredible. It’s the worst thing that’s happened by far… I’m going in to speak to Putin and I’m going to be telling him you’ve got to end this war, you’ve got to end it.”

At the same briefing, the State Department announced it was “deeply saddened” by the death of Colombian Senator Uribe, describing his killing as a blow to democracy.

“His leadership and vision for Colombia’s future were evident throughout his years of public service,” Bruce said.

“His contributions to Colombia’s democratic future, though obscenely halted, will endure and inspire future generations.”

She confirmed that Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau would travel to Bogotá to attend the memorial service on August 13.

Bruce also announced a landmark diplomatic breakthrough between Armenia and Azerbaijan, signed at the White House last week.

“The declaration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan has reaffirmed that President Trump is indeed the president of peace,” she said.

She described the agreement as:“A historic joint declaration for peace after decades of bitter conflict and too many lives lost — a landmark achievement for international diplomacy.”

The two countries also signed bilateral economic agreements with the United States, opening opportunities in “trade, transit, energy, infrastructure, and technology.”

Bruce credited Trump with resolving or advancing peace in several global conflicts, including:

“Cambodia and Thailand, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.”

The State Department also unveiled the 2024 Human Rights Report, describing it as streamlined and less politicized.

“The Human Rights Report has been restructured in a way that removes redundancy, increases report readability, and is responsive to the legislative mandates that underpin the report,” Bruce said.

She added:“The calendar year 2024 individual reports are more readable, objective, true to their statutory origins, and more useful than ever before.”

Bruce reaffirmed America’s human rights principles, quoting the nation’s founding documents:

“Human beings are ‘endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, [including] Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”

Addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Bruce said more than 120 million meals had been delivered through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

“Nothing will ever be enough in a war zone,” she said. “The war zone has to stop. It has to end.”

She reiterated US calls for Israel to investigate civilian deaths:

“We call on our ally and partner Israel to investigate these situations… We expect investigations.”

However, she rejected claims that Israel does not investigate such incidents:

“To say that Israel every time has failed to do that is not true.”

At the close of the briefing, Bruce confirmed President Trump’s intention to nominate her as Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, marking her final briefing as State Department spokesperson.

“I was astounded then and remain deeply honored and grateful for the President’s trust in me,” she said.

She thanked journalists and State Department staff, noting: “With your help, we made the daily press briefings relatable, enhancing transparency and giving the American people the foreign policy news and insight they deserve.”

Bruce concluded:“This remarkable chapter in my life continues… and my commitment to speak directly and clearly about President Trump’s America First foreign policy agenda will continue to inform all of my work.”

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