Early in his second term, President Donald Trump suspended funding to the United Nations regular budget—which primarily underwrites the salaries and benefits of the UN bureaucracy and activities like translation and conferences. The subsequent cash crunch aggravated a liquidity crisis for the organization, leading Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to propose budget and staff cuts, review UN activities, and initiate additional structural reforms. This financial pressure aided by tough diplomacy led the UN in December to endorse reforms sought by the United States—and approve the largest budget cut in UN history.

Specific achievements in the new plan include a $270 million reduction in the UN regular budget from $3.72 billion in 2025 to $3.45 billion in 2026—the largest reduction, both in dollar and percentage terms, in its history. The reforms also resulted in the abolition of over 2,900 UN staff posts achieved by eliminating vacant positions, voluntary separation of over 1,000 staff, and termination of existing staff. The member states also requested the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) , which recommends salary and benefits for UN staff, explore options to reduce the margin between UN staff and equivalent US civil servants.

In addition, the United States successfully enhanced the discretion of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the UN’s inspector general equivalent, to focus resources on high priority investigations,........

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