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.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listStill, 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 TrumpThe $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” a …
