WADA Delays Potential Trump Ban Until After World Cup

The World Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday put off a decision about barring government officials from major sporting events if their countries voluntarily withhold dues, pushing a potential conflict with President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials until at least after this summer’s World Cup.

The WADA executive committee met and said it would consider the new rule in September, two months after the end of the World Cup, which the U.S. is hosting along with Canada and Mexico.

If such a rule is adopted later this year, it would presumably go into effect before the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The U.S. hasn’t paid its dues since 2023. If that continues, the new rule could place Trump and U.S. lawmakers on a banned list for Games in their own country, though there are doubts about whether an anti-doping regulator could keep any of them from attending the Olympics.

Conflict with WADA has not been a particularly partisan issue in the U.S., which withheld the payments in 2024 and 2025 — once during Trump’s presidency and once during Joe Biden’s.