Coronavirus US Response: Pelosi Blasts Trump, Says WHO Funding Decision Will Be 'Swiftly Challenged'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized President Trump on Wednesday for his decision to halt funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), saying it will be “swiftly challenged.”

“This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged," Pelosi said.

“We can only be successful in defeating this global pandemic through a coordinated international response with respect for science and data.

"But sadly, as he has since Day One, the President is ignoring global health experts, disregarding science and undermining the heroes fighting on the frontline, at great risk to the lives and livelihoods of Americans and people around the world."

Despite the sharp criticism, it’s still unclear what specific action she will take on the issue.

Trump announced he was suspending U.S. funding for the WHO late Tuesday, blaming the organization for not doing enough to contain the coronavirus.

"Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China's lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death," the President said.

Trump claimed the U.S. pays between $400 million to $500 million each year to the organization. He also believes the WHO is too close to Beijing.

Democrats have attacked Trump’s decision, claiming that he doesn’t have the authority to withdraw the funds without congressional approval. They claim the move violates the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a law that Trump was previously accused of breaking when he withheld military aid for Ukraine last year.

“In a desperate attempt to deflect blame, President Trump is violating the same spending laws that brought about his impeachment,” Evan Hollander, a spokesperson for the House Appropriations Committee, said Wednesday.

Trump has frequently been accused of not doing enough to prevent a large coronavirus outbreak and for not taking responsibility amid the crisis.

At a Monday press briefing, Trump played a video that detailed actions by the White House. In response, CBS News reporter Paula Reid asked Trump, “What did you do with the time you bought? The month of February. That video has a gap: the entire month of February.” A Washington Post timeline showed a crucial "70-day period in which multiple opportunities to prepare for a possible pandemic were lost."