The United Nations will eliminate nearly 2,900 positions and slash hundreds of millions from its 2026 budget amid U.S.-led demands for accountability and reform, according to Ambassador Jeff Bartos.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The United Nations has approved a sharply reduced regular budget for 2026 that cuts nearly 2,900 jobs and saves $570 million, a move U.S. officials described as an unprecedented step toward curbing what they have long criticized as bureaucratic excess at the organization.
Jeff Bartos, the U.S. representative for U.N. management and reform, announced the decision in a Dec. 30 post, calling the budget “leaner” and “better prioritized” and framing it as a direct response to sustained pressure from Washington. Bartos said the changes represent “an important first step to make the UN more accountable, more disciplined and better equipped to deliver real results,” adding that the United States will continue pushing President Donald Trump’s vision of a “back-to-basics UN.”
The $3.45 billion regular budget was approved during a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, according to a Dec. 30 statement from the organization. U.N. officials said the adopted budget largely mirrors Secretary-General proposals to reduce financial resources by about 15 percent and staffing levels by nearly 19 percent.
During his formal address to the Fifth Committee, Bartos said the job reductions were necessary to shrink what he described as a “bloated bureaucracy.” He warned that the reforms would not stop with the 2026 budget.
“As our collective resolution clearly states: Reforms are not a one-time exercise,” Bartos told delegates, calling for “ambitious and tangible reform proposals” in the 2027 and 2028 budgets, including structural realignments, improved efficiency, and the elimination of duplicative functions. He also pressed for sweeping changes to U.N. compensation and benefits, arguing that salaries should be brought closer in line with U.S. civil service standards to respect the taxpayers who fund the institution.
The United States is the single largest contributor to the United Nations, providing nearly one-third of its total funding, according to a Council on Foreign Relations analysis.
President Trump has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of the U.N., emerging as a vocal critic of the organization’s record on conflict resolution and accountability. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the U.N. Human Rights Council and ending U.S. funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.
According to the order, the administration cited evidence that UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel and criticized the Human Rights Council for “protecting human rights abusers by allowing them to use the organization to shield themselves from scrutiny.”
“I’ve always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential,” Trump said at the time. “It’s not living up to that potential right now. It hasn’t for a long time.”
Trump reiterated those criticisms during a September address to the General Assembly, accusing the organization of failing to broker peace deals and of “funding an assault on Western countries and their borders” through policies that promote or enable illegal immigration.
The timing of the budget cuts drew attention because they followed closely after Washington and the United Nations finalized an agreement committing the United States to $2 billion in humanitarian funding, as reported by The Epoch Times.
Under that agreement, the U.N. is required to consolidate humanitarian functions and reduce what U.S. officials described as excessive bureaucracy and ideological drift. In a Dec. 29 statement, the State Department said individual U.N. agencies would need to “adapt, shrink, or die.”
The department alleged that many U.N. bodies had strayed from their core mission of preserving peace and security, instead advancing “radical social ideologies” and undermining U.S. interests. As part of the deal, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will establish new accountability and impact teams, along with enhanced oversight and reporting mechanisms aimed at ensuring funds are not diverted to terrorist organizations or U.S. adversaries.
Addressing delegates at the Fifth Committee meeting, U.S. Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan praised the panel for concluding difficult negotiations by consensus, according to the U.N.’s Dec. 30 statement. Reaching agreement despite prolonged talks was “something remarkable that you should not underestimate,” Ramanathan said.
The United Nations said the 2,900 job cuts are scheduled to take effect by Jan. 1, 2026, with the separation of more than 1,000 staff members already completed. The organization employs roughly 37,000 people across offices in 193 countries worldwide.
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