In a deepening fiscal and political crisis for the world’s most prominent international institution, the United Nations is facing a historic budget shortfall—and much of it stems from a widening chasm between the U.S. and the UN itself.
According to The Economist, the UN entered 2024 with a $200 million cash shortfall, and internal projections suggest that this deficit could balloon to $1.1 billion by year’s end. Without drastic cuts, the organization warns it may be unable to pay salaries or vendors by September, a grim milestone that underscores just how precarious the UN’s financial footing has become.
At the heart of the issue: unpaid dues. In 2024 alone, roughly $760 million in expected payments never arrived. The United States and China each account for about 20% of the UN’s funding, with the U.S. normally contributing around $2.3 billion annually. But tensions between Washington and Turtle Bay are at a boiling point, and the consequences are growing more tangible by the month.
Under Article 19 of the UN Charter, any country that falls two years behind on its financial commitments loses its vote in the General Assembly—though not its veto power on the Security Council.
With $3 billion in arrears, the U.S. remains under the threshold… for now. But by 2027, if funding remains frozen, America could lose its voting privileges—something that would be both symbolically and diplomatically seismic.
In February, President Trump doubled down, signing an executive action that formally announced the United States would not fund UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) or the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council), and would reject any claims for 2025 dues or prior arrears tied to these entities.
Trump’s criticisms of the UN are nothing new, but they’re now enshrined in fiscal policy. Former U.S. Ambassador Brett Schaefer told the American Enterprise Institute that the UN had been “extraordinarily compromised,” citing everything from pro-Hamas bias in UNRWA to the UNHRC’s refusal to condemn regimes like China and Cuba.
“This is an organization that has no value whatsoever to our national interests,” he said bluntly. “We need to get out of it and stop funding it.”
Schaefer didn’t mince words: UNRWA, he said, has been infiltrated by Hamas; its schools glorify terrorism and are used as cover for militant infrastructure. And institutions like the Human Rights Council? They've never once condemned China or Cuba for their abuses, despite overwhelming evidence and global outcry.