"The President’s halting of funding to the WHO as it leads the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic is senseless", Pelosi said in a statement. "This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged."
US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had instructed his administration to stop US funding for WHO, which he accused of grossly mismanaging and covering-up the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Trump decried the agency for accepting China’s claims in January that the virus was not contagious and delaying the declaration of an emergency until the end of the month.
Many states have slammed Trump's decision in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK said that London will not follow Washington’s lead on withholding WHO contributions, but refused to condemn the US move.
The US Chamber of Commerce earlier in the day said that the president compromised US interests by ending Washington's funding to the agency.
At the same time, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it expects to continue cooperating with the WHO to mitigate the novel coronavirus pandemic.