The executive order stated that Washington would pull out of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the main UN agency for Palestinian relief (UNRWA). It also mentioned that the U.S. would review its involvement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The actions were a protest against "anti-American bias" in the UN organisations, according to White House staff secretary Will Scharf. The 47 members of the UN Human Rights Council are elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms. The United States' most recent term ended on December 31, and has observer status with the council. The order issued on Tuesday likely means that the US will no longer take part in the council's activities, which involve reviewing the human rights records of countries and addressing specific allegations of human rights violations. "More generally, the executive order calls for the review of American involvement and funding in the UN in light of the wild disparities and levels of funding among different countries," said Scharf.

Trump acknowledged the UN's "tremendous potential" but claimed it was "not being well run." "It should be funded by everybody, but we're disproportionate, as we always seem to be," he said. Trump has often criticised the amount of funding Washington gives to international organisations, urging other countries to contribute more, especially to military alliances like NATO. The UNRWA is the main aid organisation for Palestinians, and many of the 1.9 million people displaced by the Gaza conflict rely on its support to survive. During Trump's presidency, the U.S. supported Israel's push to ban the agency, after Israel accused UNRWA of spreading hateful materials. 

The administration of then-President Joe Biden stopped US funding of UNRWA in January 2024 after Israel accused 12 of its staff of being involved in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. The majority of other donors who had similarly frozen financing resumed their contributions after a series of investigations revealed some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA but found no proof for Israel's main accusations. During his recent term, Trump also pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement and started withdrawing from the World Health Organization, where the U.S. is the biggest donor. These actions were similar to what Trump did during his first term, which ended in 2021.