The United Nations adopted a “leaner, better prioritized” budget for 2026 that saves $570 million and removes nearly 2,900 positions. According to the U.N., the new budget sees a 15% reduction in financial resources and an almost 19% reduction in staff.
Ambassador Jeff Bartos described the changes on social media, calling the budget “leaner” and “better prioritized.”
“$570 million in savings and the reduction of nearly 2900 posts are unprecedented reforms that represent an important first step to make the UN more accountable, more disciplined and better equipped to deliver real results,” he wrote. “The United States will continue to advance President Trump’s vision for a back-to-basics UN that meets its full potential.”
Bartos further stated that the reforms “create a more focused, effective UN fit for purpose for the people it serves — one that directs its resources to core mandates and puts the United Nations firmly on the path to get back to basics.”
The budget cut comes a day after the United States pledged to provide $2 billion in humanitarian funding. The agreement requires the United Nations to “consolidate humanitarian functions to reduce bureaucratic overhead, unnecessary duplication, and ideological creep,” while individual UN agencies “adapt, shrink, or die.” Due to the new model based on efficiency and hyper-prioritizations, the system is expected to save American taxpayers nearly $1.9 billion.
“Over President Trump’s second term, this partnership will save tens of millions of lives all around the world, while also delivering billions in efficiency-oriented savings to American taxpayers,” said Jeremy Lewin, Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom.
A report from the Council on Foreign Relations says the United States was responsible for 22% of the U.N. budget in 2025, as well as 26% of its peacekeeping budget. In 2024, the U.S. contributed to nearly a third of all U.N. funding.
