President Donald Trump has ordered the immediate withdrawal of the United States from several premier international bodies dedicated to cybersecurity, digital human rights, and countering hybrid warfare, as part of a major restructuring of American defense and diplomatic posture. The directive is part of a memorandum issued on Monday, targeting 66 international organizations deemed "contrary to the interests of the United States."
While the memorandum’s cuts to climate and development sectors have grabbed headlines, national security experts will be worries of the targeted dismantling of U.S. participation in key security alliances in the digital realm. The President has explicitly directed withdrawal from the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), and the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC).
"I have considered the Secretary of State’s report... and have determined that it is contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member," President Trump said. The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed POTUS' move calling these coalitions "wasteful, ineffective, and harmful."
"These institutions (are found) to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity," Rubio said. "President Trump is clear: It is no longer acceptable to be sending these institutions the blood, sweat, and treasure of the American people, with little to nothing to show for it. The days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over."
Dismantling the Hybrid Defense Shield
Perhaps the most significant strategic loss is the U.S. exit from the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE). Based in Helsinki, the Hybrid CoE is unique as the primary operational bridge between NATO and the European Union.
The Centre was established to analyze and counter "hybrid" threats—ambiguous, non-military attacks such as election interference, disinformation campaigns, and economic coercion, tactics frequently attributed to state actors like Russia and China. By withdrawing, the U.S. is effectively blinding the shared intelligence and coordinated response mechanisms that European allies rely on to detect these sub-threshold attacks. The U.S. participation was seen as a key deterrent; without it, the trans-Atlantic unified front against hybrid warfare could be severely fractured.
Abandoning Global Cyber Capacity Building
The administration is also pulling out of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE). Unlike a military alliance, the GFCE is a pragmatic, multi-stakeholder platform that consists of 260+ members and partners bringing together governments, private tech companies, and NGOs to build cyber capacity in developing nations.
The GFCE’s mission is to strengthen global cyber defenses by helping nations develop their own incident response teams, cyber crime laws, and critical infrastructure protection. A U.S. exit here opens a power vacuum. As the U.S. retreats from funding and guiding the capacity-building efforts, rival powers may step in to offer their own support, potentially embedding authoritarian standards into the digital infrastructure of the Global South.
The GFCE on thinks otherwise. A GFCE spokesperson told The Cyber Express "(It) respects the decision of the US government and recognizes the United States as one of the founding members of the GFCE since 2015."
"The US has been an important contributor to international cyber capacity building efforts over time," the spokesperson added when asked about US' role in the Forum. However the pull-out won't be detrimental as "the GFCE’s work is supported by a broad and diverse group of members and partners. The GFCE remains operational and committed to continuing its mission."
A Blow to Internet Freedom
Finally, the withdrawal from the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) marks an ideological shift. The FOC is a partnership of 42 governments committed to advancing human rights online, specifically fighting against internet shutdowns, censorship, and digital authoritarianism.
The U.S. has historically been a leading voice in the FOC, using the coalition to pressure regimes that restrict internet access or persecute digital dissidents. Leaving the FOC suggests the Trump administration is deprioritizing the promotion of digital human rights as a foreign policy objective. This could embolden authoritarian regimes to tighten control over their domestic internets without fear of a coordinated diplomatic backlash from the West.
The "America First" Cyber Doctrine
The administration argues these withdrawals are necessary to stop funding globalist bureaucracies that constrain U.S. action. By exiting, the White House aims to reallocate resources to bilateral partnerships where the U.S. can exert more direct leverage. However, critics could argue that in the interconnected domain of cyberspace, isolation is a vulnerability. By ceding the chair at these tables, the United States may find itself writing the rules of the next digital conflict alone, while the rest of the world—friend and foe alike—organizes without it.
The article was updated to include GFCE spokesperson's response and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement.
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