Unassigned

US Government Plans to Pay $850 Million of the 'Several Billion' It Owes to the United Nations

What's this now? The United States owes the United Nations several billion dollars, and the government has notified Congress of its plans to pay $850 million of that. What about all of the deadbeat countries that contribute next to nothing to the UN? What are we paying for, anyway? Here's a better idea: withdraw from the UN and kick its headquarters out of the United States.

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ABC News reports:

The State Department laid out its plans to transfer $725 million as part of its dues to the regular U.N. budget and $125 million toward U.N. peacekeeping operations in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to notifications sent to lawmakers this month and obtained by The Associated Press.

The U.S. is behind on about $5 billion in dues related to its U.N. membership, with more than $2 billion owed toward the regular budget and $3 billion for peacekeeping operations, the United Nations says.

President Donald Trump and his allies have spent the past year and a half demanding drastic changes across the U.N., alarming many humanitarian workers and leading to severe reductions in programs and services.

Trump has publicly called out the world body for not living up to its potential. His administration did not pay anything to the United Nations in 2025, and it has withdrawn from U.N. organizations, including the World Health Organization and the cultural agency UNESCO, while pulling funding from dozens of others.

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The Trump administration paid nothing to the UN in 2025, which sounds correct. 

So the United States is in the hole for $5 billion? How is that possible? The story doesn't specify.

The U.S. assessment for the U.N.'s regular budget is 22 percent. What benefit, if any, do we get from being a member of the U.N.?

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