Report: White House Looks to Slash United Nations Funding

The White House has instructed the State Department to look for ways to slash over half of U.S. funding for the United Nations, Foreign Policy reported on Monday. Three sources told the outlet that the State Department is eyeing cuts to programs that fund peacekeeping missions, peace talks, vaccinations for children, and nuclear weapons monitoring in so-called “rogue” states like North Korea. The State Department currently spends approximately $10 billion in annual U.N. funding. The White House has signaled major cuts to the department, and is expected to slash approximately 37 percent of State Department funding in its upcoming 2018 budget proposal. United Nations officials told Foreign Policy that the loss of U.S. funding would leave a sizable budget gap, which other member nations would struggle to fill.