UNESCO runs the influential World Heritage Sites program. There are 26 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the United States

Bavarian palaces, imperial tombs in China and memorials to Khmer Rouge victims are among the sites being recognized by the United Nations agency.

"Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States," a State Department spokeswoman said in the statement, also adding that "UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals,