Waltz rejected claims that the current UN funding crisis was mainly the result of unpaid US contributions.
“The United States pays into the U.N. system more than 180 countries combined,” Waltz said. “We have traditionally been the strongest supporter of the UN, but under President Trump we are demanding reforms.”
Waltz argued that the organization has strayed from its founding mission.
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“There are times when the UN has been incredibly helpful to US foreign policy and objectives, but there are also times when it has worked against us,” he said. “It has become bloated. It has become duplicative. It has lost its way from its original creation.”
Waltz framed the approach as part of an “America First” doctrine focused on accountability for taxpayer dollars and burden sharing among member states, and said Washington’s financial influence is intended to force change.
“If we give the UN some tough love … these are American taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” he said. “Ultimately, so to speak, we will be taking the American taxpayers’ money out of this organization.”
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz raises his hand to vote in favor of a draft resolution authorizing an International Stabilization Force in Gaza on November 17, 2025. (Adam Gray/Getty)
Earlier this week at the UN, UN Secretary General António Guterres framed the crisis as a matter of unpaid obligations by member states. When asked what gives him confidence that the United States will pay, he said, “It’s not about trust. Obligations are obligations. So when it comes to commitments, it’s not a matter of having confidence. It’s about meeting obligations.’
“They just agreed to eliminate almost 3,000 bureaucratic positions at headquarters,” Waltz said in his defense. “They agreed to the very first budget cut in the history of the UN in 80 years, a 15% cut, and they are reducing global peacekeeping forces by 25%.”
“What’s interesting is that behind the scenes there are a lot of people thanking you. This place needs to be better. President Trump is right. It’s not living up to its potential. We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why isn’t the UN resolving issues like border disputes with Cambodia and Thailand? Why aren’t they actually resolving the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan?’
“That’s what the UN was built for. Thank God that’s President Trump, but he’s asking the question of why he has to do all this. Where is the United Nations? So we’re committed to helping them deliver on their reforms, deliver on their mandate, deliver on their mission.
“You have to have one place in the world where everyone can talk,” he said. “The president is a president of peace. He puts diplomacy first.”
Asked whether the UN leadership is doing enough to reform the world body, Waltz said Guterres has been moving in the right direction but should have acted sooner.
“The Secretary General has taken steps in the right direction. Frankly, I wish he had done this much sooner and in a much more aggressive manner,” Waltz said.
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President Donald Trump meets with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters, September 23, 2025, in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He cited structural changes and consolidation efforts, while arguing that measurable results must follow.
“The UN budget has quadrupled in the last 25 years,” Waltz said. “We have not yet seen a fourfold increase in peace around the world. In fact, peace has gone in the opposite direction.”
Asked whether the Gaza government’s peace framework and a mechanism known as the Peace Council are alternatives to the UN, Waltz said they are intended to complement rather than replace the institution.
“The president does not intend for the Peace Council to replace the UN, but he does intend to bring many of these conflicts to an end,” he said.
“As part of the president’s 20-point peace plan, the Peace Council had to actually implement it.”
He said the Peace Council involves regional governments and is intended to create a stabilization structure on the ground.
“The Egyptians are involved, Turkey is involved, the Gulf Arabs, Jordan and, most importantly, the Israelis,” he said.
“We will have a stabilization force. We will have a financing mechanism for the reconstruction of humanitarian aid … and a Palestinian technocratic commission that can restore government services.”
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff attend an interview after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters/Pool)
Looking ahead, Waltz said the administration wants a narrower, more mission-driven UN focused on security, conflict resolution and economic development.
“I see … a much more focused UN that we have brought back to the basic principles of promoting peace and security around the world,” he said.
He also called for greater private sector involvement and less reliance on traditional aid structures.
“This old model of NGOs and agencies going to governments and just saying, ‘More, more, more’ is not sustainable,” he said. “If we create an environment in developing countries where American companies are welcome, we will break the dependency on development aid and everyone will benefit.”
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United Nations Headquarters in New York City, July 16, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ultimately, Waltz shaped his role as an executive vision of foreign policy.
“I am a bearer of the president’s vision,” he said. “From my perspective, at the end of his administration, he looks at a UN that is taking the lead in pushing countries toward peaceful solutions to conflicts around the world and asking for his help.
“That’s a much better dynamic than having the president do everything and say, ‘Where is the UN in these conflicts?’ And so we really want to turn that on its head, and we have a plan to do it.”
