Can Donald Trump, US officials really be barred from LA Olympics?

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is considering rewriting its rules in a move that could potentially bar US President Donald Trump and other American government officials from attending the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to reporting by the Associated Press. The proposed change could also have wider implications for other major events hosted by the United States, including the FIFA World Cup scheduled for this summer.

The proposal is set to be discussed at a meeting of WADA’s executive committee on 17 March. According to AP, the measure is the latest development in a long-running dispute stemming from the US government’s refusal to pay its annual dues to the global anti-doping watchdog.

AP said it obtained correspondence between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making that confirmed the agenda item. Two additional individuals familiar with the proposal also confirmed its existence to AP, though they were not authorised to speak publicly as the meeting agenda has not yet been released.

The dispute traces back to Washington’s bipartisan protest over WADA’s handling of several doping controversies, including cases involving Chinese swimmers. The US government has withheld its financial contributions to the agency for several years as part of that protest.

WADA spokesperson James Fitzgerald told AP that “there is nothing new here”, noting that discussions about how to respond when governments withhold funding have been underway since 2020 and are not specifically directed at the United States.

The rule change was first proposed in 2024 but was rejected after US authorities successfully lobbied against it. Since then, however, the United States has lost its seat on WADA’s executive committee.

Sara Carter, director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), defended Washington’s position in a statement. “In spite of WADA's increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” she said.

Even if adopted, the proposed rule could be largely symbolic, given the difficulty an international sports body might face in preventing a sitting US president from attending an event hosted within the United States.

“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” Rahul Gupta, Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP and a former WADA executive committee member, told AP. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It's ludicrous. It's clear they have not thought this through.”

After AP published its report, WADA issued a statement describing the story as “entirely misleading”. The agency cited Fitzgerald’s earlier remarks suggesting that even if new rules were introduced, they would not apply retroactively and therefore would not affect the upcoming FIFA World Cup or the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and Salt Lake City in 2034.

Responding to follow-up questions from AP about how a rule not yet adopted could be deemed non-retroactive for future events, Fitzgerald wrote in an email: “I'm trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don't see how it could come into play for this year's World Cup.”

However, AP reported that WADA has indicated it could act more quickly if needed. In a response last month to European officials, the agency said the proposal could be adopted “without undue delay”, adding that the Foundation Board could consider it via a circular vote or during an extraordinary meeting if required.

A draft of the proposal seen by AP states that sanctions would apply to governments that fail to pay their dues by 31 January of the year following billing. The United States has not paid its WADA contributions since 2023. The draft reportedly does not mention whether the rule would apply retroactively.

Under the proposal, countries that fail to pay would face a three-tier system of penalties. In the US case, unpaid dues amount to roughly $3.7 million from last year, in addition to $3.6 million that was not paid in 2024.

Among the most severe potential sanctions is the exclusion of government representatives from major sporting events, including world championships and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Such restrictions could theoretically apply to Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and members of the US Congress, who recently approved hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for security and logistics related to the World Cup and the Los Angeles Olympics.

AP said representatives from the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not respond to requests for comment on how any ban on US officials might be implemented.

WADA’s total budget is projected at $57.5 million for 2025. Half of its funding comes from the International Olympic Committee, with the remainder provided by governments worldwide. Contributions from national governments are loosely calculated based on the size of their Olympic teams, with the United States traditionally paying one of the largest shares.

Tensions between Washington and WADA date back to the first Trump administration and are rooted in US criticism of the global anti-doping system. The agency faced intense scrutiny over its handling of Russia’s state-sponsored doping programme ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

The dispute deepened in 2024 after reports emerged that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned substance but were still allowed to compete. WADA accepted the Chinese anti-doping authority’s explanation that the athletes had been unintentionally exposed to traces of a prohibited heart medication in a hotel kitchen.

Since then, both Congress and the ONDCP — under the Trump and Biden administrations — have continued to withhold US payments to the anti-doping body, prolonging the standoff.