President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday withdrawing the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Relief and Works Agency for the second time.

The UNRWA provides humanitarian aid for Palestinian refugees. Mr. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the two organizations during his first term as well.

The executive order also reviews American involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2019. It also calls for a review of American funding in the U.N.

“I’ve always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential,” Mr. Trump told reporters while signing the orders. “It’s not living up to that potential right now. It really isn’t. Hasn’t for a long time.”

“There are great hopes for it, but it’s not being well run, to be honest, and not doing the job,” the president said, adding that the U.S. “never seem to get help” from the U.N. when it comes to settling conflicts.

He said the U.N. needs to “be fair to countries that deserve fairness.”

President Biden reinstated the U.S. to the Human Rights Council and UNRWA when he took office in 2021, but he paused funding to the agency in 2024 after revelations that a dozen of the agency’s employees were involved in the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.

Mr. Trump’s executive order came ahead of his meeting Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Israel’s ban on the agency went into effect last week.

It also comes as the future of the U.S. Agency for International Development is in doubt. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, called for it to be shut down. Mr. Trump also voiced misgivings about USAID, which also has been criticized for its aid ending up in the hands of terrorists.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.