“In America, the impossible is our best endeavor.” Those were words spoken by President Donald Trump during his second inaugural address. Shortly after, when we stepped into the United States Mission to the United Nations, we took those words to heart.
For many years, the idea of reforming the United Nations seemed, well, nearly impossible.
Yet on December 30, the U.S. led the UN General Assembly in taking an unprecedented step in its long history—passing a budget that slashed spending by $570 million and cut thousands of positions from a bloated system.
This significant reform was made possible by the President’s leadership and vision.
The U.S. has always been the largest contributor to the UN, providing a larger share of the regular budget than all 180 other member states combined.
So, when President Trump announced shortly after taking office that the U.S. would halt its funding unless substantial reforms occurred, other member states really took notice.
Historically, many American presidents have spoken about reform, but there was something different this time—this administration seemed to genuinely mean what it said.
During my Senate confirmation hearing last July, we emphasized the urgent need for reforming the UN’s bureaucracy to streamline operations, cut redundancy, and enhance effectiveness.
Senators noted the daunting challenge of restructuring an organization of 193 member states, each with its own priorities and equal voting rights, regardless of their financial contributions to the budget.
Maximize your potential
However, we argued that reform is indeed possible, thanks to President Trump opening a unique opportunity for meaningful and lasting change.
Once confirmed in September, just after the Senate’s approval, President Trump spoke to a packed house at the UN General Assembly.
He remarked, “The United Nations has enormous potential, but we are far from realizing that potential.” We heard his message loud and clear.
In the next 100 days, we focused on delivering the crucial reforms he envisioned—changes that the American public deserves.
Negotiations for the UN budget often involve coalitions of countries, with the U.S. taking a leading role.
We can shape the agenda and facilitate discussions among UN leaders and member states to reach common ground.
Through many long hours of diplomacy and conversations aimed at aligning various perspectives and priorities, we managed to garner support.
Our efforts demonstrated that all member states supported President Trump’s call for the UN to unlock its potential.
So, what have we accomplished in this 100-day window?
For the first time in its 80-year history, the UN managed to cut its budget by $570 million.
We eliminated 2,900 unnecessary bureaucratic positions.
Additionally, we repatriated numerous peacekeepers and trimmed hundreds of millions from the peacekeeping budget.
Peace and security
The UN Security Council unanimously approved President Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza and also backed Haiti’s crucial anti-gang initiative.
These significant reforms aim to cultivate a more focused and effective UN, steering it back to its essential role of maintaining international peace and security.
Yet, we must ensure that these reforms do not become just a one-off effort.
In the coming year, we plan to implement much-needed, sensible changes to the UN’s staffing and pension systems to streamline peacekeeping operations and eliminate waste and inefficiencies that hinder the UN’s effectiveness.
Every day we step into this building, we remember President Trump’s challenge for the UN to fulfill its considerable potential.
This organization remains the only global forum where everyone can express their views, and we want it to thrive right here in the U.S.
We remain dedicated to working hard to ensure the UN meets its commitments.
