How Trump’s "Skinny Budget" Could Break the UN

Sweeping proposed cuts sets the UN up for failure

Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash

On Friday, the White House released a “Skinny Budget” — a document that outlines high-level budget priorities without delving into program-by-program appropriations. This marks the first formal indication of the Trump administration’s spending priorities, and when it comes to foreign aid in general — and the United Nations in particular — the outlook is grim.

The budget request slashes foreign aid by roughly 84%. This includes a nearly 50% cut in funding compared to 2025 levels, plus an additional $20 billion reduction in funds previously approved by Congress. Combined, the total foreign affairs budget would amount to just $9.6 billion.

Nearly every tentacle of American foreign policy is impacted by these sweeping cuts. Embassies will be shuttered. Democracy promotion efforts through entities like the National Endowment for Democracy will end. The Food for Peace program — which supplies American-grown food, transported on American ships, to people in crisis in partnership with the World Food Program — is zeroed out. And there are massive cuts to global health spending, to name just a few. You name it, and chances are the White House budget request slashes it.

This includes sweeping cuts to the United Nations itself — cuts that, if enacted, would have profound and severe consequences for the institution and its ability to carry out its work around the world. Put simply, this budget sets the United Nations up for failure.