The US government plans to pay $850 million of the several billion dollars it owes the United Nations, the largest amount the Trump administration has given the organization since demanding reforms in exchange for continued support as its largest donor.
The U.S. government notified Congress of this, and the State Department outlined plans to transfer $725 million in outstanding payments to the regular budget of the United Nations and $125 million to UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to notifications sent to lawmakers this month.
The United Nations says the United States is in arrears with about $5 billion in dues related to its UN membership, including more than $2 billion owed to the regular budget and $3 billion to peacekeeping operations.
In February, the Trump administration made a one-off payment of $160 million shortly after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the organization faced "imminent financial collapse" unless its financial rules were reformed or all 193 member states paid their dues—a message clearly directed at the United States.
President Donald Trump and his allies have spent the past year and a half demanding radical changes to the United Nations, alarming many humanitarian workers and leading to sharp cuts in programs and services.
Trump publicly criticized the international organization, arguing that it had not reached its full potential. His administration paid no funding to the United Nations in 2025, withdrew from several UN agencies, including the World Health Organization and UNESCO, and cut funding to dozens of others.
