President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from WHO, but that did not take immediate effect.

Sen. Raphael Warnock put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the hot seat during RFK Jr.'s first senate committee hearing as President Trump's pick to the lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Warnock questioned Kennedy's alleged comments comparing the work of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to that of Nazi death camps.

The White House has directed the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to cease all collaboration with the World Health Organization.

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a tense exchange during his confirmation hearing Wednesday to examine the RFK Jr.'s qualifications to be the country's top health official.

The directive to the CDC to halt communications with the World Health Organization was imposed to comply with President Trump's executive order.

With federal health agencies such as the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under a temporary freeze on public communications, some data and publications have not been released on their normal schedule.

Now, Trump has tamped down health communications from government agencies, including the CDC, pending approval from the new administration. Trump has singled out government health agencies, including the CDC, to suspend workers who are on the payroll specifically to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Trump Administration has frozen many federal health agencies’ communications with the public until at least the end of the month.

Employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were told to halt all public communications Tuesday.

President Trump has picked former Congressman David Weldon to serve as his CDC director. Previous directors have been able to start soon after they were picked. But under a law passed by Congress in 2022, Weldon will need to be confirmed by the Senate before starting in the position.

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock pressed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Senate Finance Committee to gain insight on how he would lead if confirmed as Health Secretary. Kennedy is President Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).