The administration of United States President Donald Trump has pledged an extra $1.8bn in humanitarian funding to the United Nations.

But the amount announced on Thursday remains far short of past US commitments to humanitarian aid, which totalled as high as $17bn in fiscal year 2022.

Still, the Trump administration sought to frame that smaller sum as evidence of its push for greater government efficiency.

Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, described Trump’s goal as  ”bringing transparency to how American tax dollars are being used for humanitarian aid”.

“ I’ll tell you for certain: President Trump made clear from his first day in office that the days of accepting status-quo processes are over,” Waltz said on a panel announcing the additional aid.

He added that, in changing the US’s approach to UN spending, Trump hoped to help the international body “reform”.

“In many ways, this collaboration on reform reflects President Trump’s priorities for the UN in helping it reach its potential,” Waltz said. “His mandate to us is to help the institution reform and help it achieve that potential.”

A shift in aid under Trump

The $1.8bn announced on Thursday comes in addition to a $2bn “anchor commitment” to humanitarian spending signed in December.

But those funds were part of a memorandum wherein the Trump administration pushed the UN to pursue a “humanitarian reset”. It criticised the organisation for “ideological creep” and “bureaucratic inefficiencies”, among other issues.

Since returning to office for a second term in January 2025, Trump has initiated a pullback away from international aid commitments, slashing available funds and dismantling key government structures.

Last July, for instance, his administration shuttered the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been, for decades, the primary organ for the distribution of US foreign assistance.

Funding for international aid and development overall fell as the Trump administration froze or severed contracts.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that, for 2025, development assistance from the US dropped by 56.9 percent over 2024.

Critics have warned that Trump’s efforts to scale back international aid could come at the expense of human rights, global safety and public health.

In a 42-page report issued on Thursday, the group Human Rights Watch called the “retreat in foreign funding” an “autocrat’s dream”, as it weakened the international mechanisms for holding human rights abusers accountable.

“The foreign aid cuts have made it harder to document human rights violations, protect communities at risk, and hold human rights abusers to account,” Sarah Yager, the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said in an accompanying statement.

A tug-of-war with the UN

Trump and his allies have nevertheless framed the funding cuts as necessary to combat “waste, fraud and abuses” in the US federal government.

Trump has also been an outspoken critic of the UN, denouncing the agency for failing to live up to its promises.

At last year’s UN General Assembly, for instance, the US president slammed the international body for its “empty words” and lack of follow-through.

“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked. “The UN has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential, but it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential for the most part, at least for now.”

To achieve its desired reforms at the UN, the Trump administration has sought to place conditions on the funding it gives the international body.

But the US is behind on the member dues it owes to the UN. In February, officials with the UN General Assembly reported that the US had only paid $160m in dues, out of an arrears of nearly $4bn.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been among the leaders pressuring the US to fulfil its commitments, rejecting the prospect of any strings attached to the overdue payments.

Speaking to reporters on April 30, Guterres rejected US demands, including reforming the UN’s pension system and its senior ranks.

“Assessed contributions are an obligation of member states,” he replied. “They are non-negotiable.”

‘Overstretched’ and ‘under-resourced’

At Thursday’s panel with Waltz, the UN’s under-secretary for humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, emphasised in particular the need to address the suffering caused by conflicts, disasters and other global emergencies.

“We are facing rising needs. Over 300 million people need our support, and we’re facing declining global funding,” he said. “We are, as a result, overstretched, under-resourced and literally under attack.”

Waltz, meanwhile, sought to dismiss criticisms that the Trump administration had shrunk from its commitments to help the world’s most vulnerable populations.

“There’s this narrative out there in the media space that the United States has walked away,” Waltz said.

“That is absolutely false. It’s fake news. The numbers not only that we announced in December but that we’re announcing here today will result in more cents on every dollar actually getting to people in need.”