Tucked within the appropriations bill signed by President Donald Trump this week was a provision that withholds the United States’ annual dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency until the organization takes steps to address U.S. accusations that WADA is beholden to Chinese influence.
The new law, signed by Trump on Tuesday to end a partial government shutdown, states that any U.S. plan to fund WADA must include the results of an audit “to be conducted by external anti-doping experts and experienced independent auditors” that shows the agency and its executives are “operating consistent with their duties.”
For months, the U.S. government has threatened to withhold its annual $3.6 million in WADA dues. The conflict stems from the revelation that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned substance in 2021 but had not been punished after WADA accepted Chinese officials’ explanation that the swimmers had eaten tainted food. WADA, the world’s top anti-doping authority, did not report the incident publicly or to its own executive board.
U.S. government officials have warned that they might eventually lead an exodus of countries away from WADA’s authority, a drastic step that would upend nearly 27 years of a system that has governed almost all international sport, including the Olympics and World Cup. U.S. and WADA officials have said they don’t see that happening anytime soon, but they also say they don’t know how the conflict will be resolved.
The push for greater WADA transparency and accountability started during the Biden administration, has bipartisan support and has no evident opposition in Congress. The White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) withheld its 2024 dues during President Joe Biden’s last year in office, and President Trump’s ONDCP withheld dues in 2025. The law Trump signed this week means the U.S. is bound to maintain that policy.
“Governments or individuals who seek to manipulate or evade the rules must be held accountable,” ONDCP director Sara Carter said in a statement. “ONDCP will continue to demand that WADA submit to an independent compliance audit to advance sports integrity and fairness of competition. The United States will not be bullied or manipulated into paying dues to WADA until such is achieved.”
WADA officials said the organization won’t be forced into changing its rules of governance, even though the loss of that $3.6 million — and the same amount in matching funds — has “naturally led to a recalculation of some of our programs,” a WADA spokesperson said in a statement. “Additional contributions from other public authorities around the world have substantially mitigated the negative impact. WADA remains in a strong financial position.”
The U.S. had been the largest contributor to WADA’s annual budget of approximately $56 million. The language in the appropriations bill gives the United States wide discretion in what it considers to be WADA compliance.
“Annual contributions to WADA are not conditional — that was a principle established and agreed by all governments when WADA was founded 26 years ago. If every government attached conditions to its WADA dues, it would lead to chaos,” the WADA statement read. “However, the fact is that WADA is already independently audited on a regular basis.”
WADA has dismissed U.S. concerns as being misplaced and part of longstanding hostility between the organization and the head of its U.S. affiliate, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart.
The International Olympic Committee, which provides 50% of WADA’s funding, has not yet addressed the conflict between the U.S. and the agency. New IOC president Kirsty Coventry, who represented Zimbabwe in the Olympics as a swimmer and attended Auburn University, did not mention the standoff with WADA this week as she met the press during her first Olympic Games as president.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who co-sponsored a bill seeking the same conditions for the U.S. to resume paying its dues, applauded the new law.
“We are pleased the appropriations package included provisions to hold WADA accountable, and we remain committed to making these protections for athletes permanent,” she said in a statement.
USADA’s Tygart, who has been WADA’s most prominent critic for more than a decade, also welcomed the news.
“It’s time to get WADA’s house in order, and thankfully, the United States, as the host of the next Olympics, is unified that fair sport and clean athlete’s rights must prevail,” he said in a statement.
In his statement, the WADA spokesperson said the organization recently reached out to Carter, who was confirmed as ONDCP director a month ago, congratulating her on her appointment, and plans to find a resolution with her.
“The truth is WADA stands ready to work with all parties in the U.S.,” the WADA statement read. “The government has said it can work with us, so have the organizers of the LA Games, and so have the anti-doping laboratories in the U.S. Within USADA, WADA has good working relationships at the expert and operational levels.
“We will continue to build strong relationships within the U.S., just as we do all over the world.”
T.J. Quinn and Michael Rothstein
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