The Biden administration is delaying the U.S. payment to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to pressure the organization into making reforms following reports that it did not take action against elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The White House has called for more accountability and transparency from WADA and has demanded that the agency undergo a thorough external audit of its operations. This follows increased scrutiny over WADA’s failure to address multiple doping cases involving China.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, is also pushing for restrictions on how WADA uses U.S. taxpayer dollars, particularly to limit the agency’s ability to sue U.S. institutions, such as in the defamation lawsuit WADA filed against American anti-doping authorities.
WADA, which has often resisted external scrutiny, is the global organization responsible for overseeing the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in events like the Olympics.
WADA has denied any mishandling of the positive tests and has labeled the U.S. criticism as politically motivated. A spokesperson for the organization said on Monday that “WADA’s governance model does not include any provision that permits a government to withhold its contribution unilaterally based on its own conditions.”
