FEB. 18, 2025 BY ANNA GAWEL <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkmwmJYTmQjea6Zpj4oNyn-u5aHAn3_yrPKNknGo-SRmjWzmaAfam5IEyGonYroIdklsk=> First the Paris Climate Agreement. Then the World Health Organization <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkmw7n9aJLsXvasyM0Jah-P_vaY1CdoNBdwLHzgAEq-kwFu7MB1fcZ0B4E1zahj04W4Es=>. Is the World Bank <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wknKQJWpTJ-fTy9LnnYpYUQthFKSnXeImEapVd8M8fMxa1WfDs7QQSZwRatbaGNrc9foE=> next on U.S. President Donald Trump’s hit list? Experts say it’s unlikely he’d withdraw the U.S. from the bank, but then again, Trump revels in the unlikely.
*Also in today’s edition:* We travel to the dark tunnel where one of the world’s deadliest viruses lurks. * Join us tomorrow, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. ET for a post-Munich Security Conference briefing with Michael Werz, the North American representative for MSC, about the key takeaways and how shifting geopolitical tides are expected to affect development. Save your spot now <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wknDVkj155IHVDSDT8c7Ak0rXpY-VJwVrTRvXDyFkBrfKriz7uyFcWN7mlw2BwDjv_sqw=>.* Don’t bank on it Trump does not do half-measures. He prefers bold action. Just ask USAID <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkmxNUhmtjmfcIH9eQmcQ8Vw1P1_ues44j5cs9Ai7-xFlcdn383q96ofehsVj5apGfoXU=> employees who have watched their agency disintegrate <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POq0gsUB-6H_8OChJKIRDNRIxXG8ZASG-6-yq1m-VgbIhn_tC-5_9gTR8jCTJ09IWEZ4Q0YG9JuVCnqaArgc5Bk431DdJhIuI68_oh37n9YVVAUzjPAzNZ-kpxZeRRduPUl-Va_dQC4KnoSmmr3r7zWEcC1YujdG2hcrfE9jfJe9E6aNVkYvzaHFFPb9IaoYEmu6V4Lpvbq7trvmE92mevMKVP4Gb_GHstPinW1u3k8AaZKdV6AkrbzI6ks-zg5CMjA==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkm3WjgiOb7tQEBmbp2D_IZJyVuDqXsfhnUwn45b4aS6pT5vrDD3FF1MJU-XpGbtDZgac=> in the blink of an eye. <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POgeWpEfG2n0n7gG-jSSvJvqYAGV7x8avAf3JfXBM023Sr4n9b3g185ujKEby2bsveWb4u5COGUFQQZueg_0-l-SCwPZIwCYdIHFCG6YKwyV7P97wnPQ0Gn4ciUE_dC-vL0_1uEjnlDMP6hG6AdG8Y6ciPlc3_znknlfcfgTTb33es0fZmnEva-LCc8SamnwZ6Oe6Aksnme8BLJ4ZtH2riYraGZhkHb89qLPWGplMJbUGB4FJs3zfKq_qEdfeAPej7g==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkm3WjgiOb7tQEBmbp2D_IZJyVuDqXsfhnUwn45b4aS6pT5vrDD3FF1MJU-XpGbtDZgac=> *But would he be bold enough to dilute the U.S. share in the World Bank* or ditch the bank altogether, considering how much power it wields — power he’d essentially be ceding to rivals such as China if he were to exit? *Many experts say it would be counterproductive to Trump’s “America First”* stick-over-carrot approach, but it’s still within the realm of possibility. Project 2025, the conservative manifesto published by the Heritage Foundation <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkm-xRzBik_bB9R3uQBICiO33nfbh3Wq7630cH01wR_W4llR1bDz3Bmo9C-QUJ6zga_LI=>, encourages the U.S. Treasury <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkmzwvFl4qW11e0-XGyjtnAsUCituZAdCaw6U6_VCK6a8N8UZk-FZqXysqhYUrmuz1-_A=> to “force reforms and new policies” in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wknBQbM0vzYef3E-OYta0UwAT8fBtZfh5s3NyMISOquI9P5qbE0cSHn8O52wuX-B760WI=>. It also *recommends that the U.S. withdraw and “terminate its financial contribution.”* While Trump distanced himself <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POjbW6rOsZ37Uc-AtgCDeIvfogVPrcOeCOxa-uyugoAg60DS3ZJrqce-d3ZHCctV2dp7dLcidc8sImlYkpEYIQqBPONYK1ACmNchMTb2s9kFOEhWjA3lV-6j9OGM5VsKF3iJFlVrUpo4K_ZXIKJ1lZaxMVfs37Uk1NNHs93fihEeTWvcQFPYN04GnWbrGxhX3nD0O5J9GJweXeSiZnWqbbdDqysOkdYKHZ-VI3HWkYYptEKxXsKWwY8jvjeJvnce6sA==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkm3WjgiOb7tQEBmbp2D_IZJyVuDqXsfhnUwn45b4aS6pT5vrDD3FF1MJU-XpGbtDZgac=> from the blueprint on the campaign trail, he’s increasingly embraced it since then. Logistically speaking, it would not be hard to pull out of the World Bank <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POgeWpEfG2n0n7gG-jSSvJvqYAGV7x8avAf3JfXBM023Sr4n9b3g185ujKEby2bsveWb4u5COGUFQQZueg_0-l-SCwPZIwCYdIHFCG6YKwyV7P97wnPQ0Gn4ciUE_dC-vL0_1uEjnlDMP6hG6AdG8Y6ciPlc3_znknlfcfgTTb33es0fZmnEva-LCc8SamnwZ6Oe6Aksnme8BLJ4ZtH2riYraGZhkHb89qLPWGplMJbUG4aqh1GPaHIGWpE53O64PQg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkm3WjgiOb7tQEBmbp2D_IZJyVuDqXsfhnUwn45b4aS6pT5vrDD3FF1MJU-XpGbtDZgac=>, my colleague Jesse Chase-Lubitz explains. Trump would pretty much just have to submit a notice to the bank. *The big question mark is whether Congress has a say*. Experts say such a withdrawal would be unprecedented, thus the legalities are largely up in the air. “The term unprecedented is a good one,” says Clemence Landers of the Center for Global Development <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wknEMO9fKVH-5NvragKPCd-zDOkYi2ROLIJ9teGRKMT-eyukbVn-7Bhp05l7lC4q_JJp0=>. “It’s so unclear the extent to which Congress needs to be involved in this or not. That’s the game-changing thing.” *Read:* Could the US pull out of the World Bank? Unlikely — but not impossible <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POgeWpEfG2n0n7gG-jSSvJvqYAGV7x8avAf3JfXBM023Sr4n9b3g185ujKEby2bsveWb4u5COGUFQQZueg_0-l-SCwPZIwCYdIHFCG6YKwyV7P97wnPQ0Gn4ciUE_dC-vL0_1uEjnlDMP6hG6AdG8Y6ciPlc3_znknlfcfgTTb33es0fZmnEva-LCc8SamnwZ6Oe6Aksnme8BLJ4ZtH2riYraGZhkHb89qLPWGplMJbUGAeWwWrZf9I7LsY2ItsCqlw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYt-wkm3WjgiOb7tQEBmbp2D_IZJyVuDqXsfhnUwn45b4aS6pT5vrDD3FF1MJU-XpGbtDZgac=>
