TEHRAN, March 15, YJC - The White House budget proposal is considering cutting funding of the United Nations and its programs in half as it looks to shrink spending by the State Department.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - US President Trump’s administration is expected to slash the State Department budget by 37 percent, and sources said the department’s staffers are looking to pull funding from certain UN programs in order to meet that goal, according to a report from Foreign Policy.
The White House is slated to release its 2018 budget on Thursday, at which point the extent of rumored cuts will become clear. Trump has promised to seriously curtail what he sees as unnecessary spending across a variety of domestic and international platforms.
While the previous administration under former President Barack Obama sought to grow diplomatic ties and US aid, Trump has taken initial steps to reverse that trend, and argues that cuts to foreign aid and the state department will fund a proposed $54 billion increase in defense spending.
Trump has aired concerns with the UN in particular before. In late December, he called the 193-member nation group, which engages in worldwide peacekeeping and aid, "just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time."
"As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th," he tweeted as a warning at the time.
The leaked plan could be a vehicle to make good on that promise.
While his remarks take a hard stance, Trump isn’t the first to criticize the organization.
Many have noted the shortcomings of its entangled bureaucracy, and decried lapses in the UN’s productivity.
But those who have tried to reform the organization have often walked away unsuccessful.
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