The United States will leave the United Nations' culture and education agency UNESCO as President Donald Trump continues to pull his country out of international institutions he has long criticized, two European diplomats told Reuters.

The White House has not immediately responded to a request from Reuters for comment outside regular business hours.

According to Reuters, the move is a blow to the Paris-based agency, founded after World War II to promote peace through international cooperation in education, science, and culture.

The New York Post also reported on the US withdrawal, citing a White House official.

Trump took similar steps during his first term, quitting the World Health Organization, the UN Human Rights Council, a global climate change accord, and the Iran nuclear deal.

Joe Biden reversed those decisions after taking office in 2021, returning the US to UNESCO, the WHO, and the climate agreement.

With Trump now back in the White House, the US is once again withdrawing from these global bodies.

He has already decided to withdraw the US from the WHO and halt funding to the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA as part of a review of the country's participation in UN agencies, due to be concluded in August.

UNESCO — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — is best known for designating World Heritage Sites, including the Grand Canyon in the United States and the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

The United States initially joined UNESCO at its founding in 1945 but withdrew for the first time in 1984, in protest against alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-US bias. It returned almost 20 years later, in 2003, under President George W. Bush, who stated that the agency had undertaken the necessary reforms. 

The United States provides approximately eight percent of UNESCO's total budget, down from around 20 percent at the time Trump first withdrew the country from the agency.