Overview
- The appropriations bill signed this week by President Donald Trump blocks release of U.S. dues until an audit by external anti-doping experts and independent auditors confirms WADA’s Executive Committee and Foundation are fulfilling their duties.
- WADA rejects the extra audit as unnecessary, noting annual PwC reviews, a risk and audit committee, an internal auditor, and ISO-accredited compliance monitoring, while saying its roughly $56–57 million budget remains stable with support from other public authorities.
- The United States has withheld about $3.6 million for a second straight year, with ONDCP director Sara Carter saying the government will not pay until WADA undergoes an independent compliance audit.
- WADA president Witold Banka voiced optimism the U.S. will soon pay and regain its Executive Committee seat, and he met with USOPC leader Gene Sykes this week for what WADA described as a positive discussion.
- The standoff traces to WADA’s 2021 decision to accept contamination claims for 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive before Tokyo, a case an independent investigator later said WADA did not mishandle.