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- US to send $850 million to UN to pay down billions in dues (themirror.com)
The U.S. government has informed Congress of its intention to pay $850 million toward its outstanding debts to the United Nations, marking the largest contribution from the Trump administration since it began pushing for major reforms within the international body.
According to notifications obtained by The Associated Press, the State Department plans to allocate $725 million to the U.N.’s regular budget and an additional $125 million to peacekeeping efforts in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite this payment, the U.S. still owes approximately $5 billion in total dues, with over $2 billion past due on the regular budget and about $3 billion owed for peacekeeping operations.
Earlier this year, the administration made a smaller payment of $160 million after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned of an “imminent financial collapse” unless member nations, particularly the U.S., met their financial obligations or reformed the organization’s financial rules.
President Donald Trump and his allies have spent the last year and a half pressing for significant changes at the U.N., a stance that has unsettled many humanitarian groups and led to cuts in various programs. The administration has criticized the U.N. for falling short of its mission, withheld payments in 2025, and withdrawn from agencies such as the World Health Organization and UNESCO, while reducing funding to several others.
The recent notifications, dated August 4, faced some criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Some GOP lawmakers argue that the proposed payments do not sufficiently address concerns about what they describe as excessive staffing and ideological positions at the U.N. that conflict with the administration’s priorities. In particular, there was dissatisfaction over the lack of stronger measures regarding U.S. assistance to the U.N. agency supporting Palestinian refugees.
At this time, the U.S. mission to the United Nations has not provided a comment on the payment plans or the congressional response.
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- US to send $850 million to UN to pay down billions in dues (themirror.com)