The U.S. government did not pay the more than $3.6 million due to the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2024, making good on a long-running threat anchored in unhappiness with the global watchdog's handling of cases involving Chinese swimmers and others.
Those funds, normally distributed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, represent about 6% of WADA's annual budget.
WADA statutes say representatives of countries that don't pay are not eligible to sit on the agency's top decision-making panels. U.S. drug czar Rahul Gupta is listed as a member of the WADA executive committee.
Gupta told The Associated Press the ONDCP was ''evaluating all our options," and did not rule out eventually sending the money to WADA.
''WADA must take concrete actions to restore trust in the world antidoping system and provide athletes the full confidence they deserve,'' he said. "When U.S. taxpayer dollars are allocated, we must ensure full accountability and it is our responsibility to ensure those funds are used appropriately.''
In 2022, when Gupta held out, then eventually directed his office to send the balance of its yearly contribution, he did so with reservations, along with a letter saying the U.S. absence at the time from key policymaking positions was ''a sorry state of affairs.''
Half of WADA's budget is covered by the International Olympic Committee, with the other half covered by governments across the world, which receive 50% of the spots on key WADA governing committees.
The U.S. contribution is double that of Canada, the home country for WADA that puts in the second most money among the more than 180 countries that contribute.