Congress
Waltz vows to take take Trump’s chainsaw to the United Nations
Former national security adviser Mike Waltz pledged Tuesday to push for reform at the United Nations, portraying the body as bloated, ineffectual and overly politicized during his confirmation hearing to serve as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to international organization.
Echoing the administration’s approach to slashing the federal government, Waltz said that the administration was conducting a number of reviews of the United Nations to examine how it is spending its funds, calling for the body to refocus on its founding principles.
He also criticized the “radical politicization” of the body, citing U.N. reports about racism among U.S. law enforcement and the seizure of land from Native Americans.
“We should have one place in the world where everyone can talk,” said the former Republican representative from Florida. “But after 80 years, it’s drifted from its core mission of peacemaking.”
Waltz also vowed to push back against China at the U.N. amid Beijing’s rising influence at the global body.
The United States is the largest single financial contributor to the U.N., accounting for more than a quarter of its overall budget. Waltz indicated this could be used as leverage in pushing for reform.
“If you look at when reform has actually happened,” he said, “it is when the United States has said, ‘You know what, we need to actually see things before the U.S. taxpayer continues to write checks.’”
The administration is looking to cancel some $1 billion in federal funding to the U.N. as part of its rescission package, which seeks to claw back almost $10 billion in federal funds.
The Senate is set to vote on the measure as early as this week, bringing cuts to a world body already facing a deep financial crisis.
Waltz questioned the number of bodies at the U.N. that focus on climate change and environmental protection, including the U.N. Environment Program and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
At one point during the hearing, he read from a list of U.N. 455 entities that he claimed received U.S. funding and appeared to question their relevance.
Trump has said the U.N. needs to get its “act together” and has called on the body to focus on its “primary purpose” of conflict resolution, a view which was shared by Waltz on Tuesday.
Administration officials have been quick to criticize the organization, founded in the wake of World War II, though they have not outlined a clear vision on how to improve it.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) later quizzed Waltz on how the administration planned to reconcile its efforts to cut its contributions to the international body, while maintaining its influence.
“You’ve just waved here’s this great big list of organizations. Many of them do critical things,” Coons said.
Waltz’s hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee marked his first major public appearance since he stepped down as Trump’s national security advisor in May, having reportedly clashed with several senior officials over whether to pursue military strikes against Iran.
Democrats also used the hearing to tear into Waltz over his role in the Signalgate scandal, in which a journalist from The Atlantic was added to a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal where top administration officials discussed plans to launch air strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen. But the Democratic senators balanced that with queries about plans for the U.N. and the administration’s plans to check China’s influence.
Throughout the hearing, Waltz offered a sharp criticism of what he described as antisemitism at the U.N., citing a disproportionate number of resolutions passed against Israel in the General Assembly and reports that a number of staffers from the body’s Palestinian aid agency participated in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in 2023.
Waltz said that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency should be defunded and dismantled and that its humanitarian work handed over to other bodies.
A former Army Green Beret, Waltz’s initial appointment as national security adviser was greeted with a sigh of relief among allies and lawmakers on Capitol Hill who viewed him as an experienced foreign policy hand.
Democrats questioned Waltz at the hearing on the administration’s decision to dismantle USAID and the Global Engagement Center, a body within the State Department that sought to counter Russian and Chinese disinformation.
The role of the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is the last of Trump’s Cabinet positions to be filled.
The president had initially tapped Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for the role, but withdrew her nomination in March in a bid to preserve the GOP’s thin majority in the House of Representatives.
The House late Wednesday advanced a trio of cryptocurrency bills and a 2026 Defense spending measure after a group of GOP hard-liners dropped their opposition to the effort following a chaotic day of turnabouts and negotiations with Republican leaders.
The House voted 217-212 to advance the bills following a closed-door standoff between House conservatives and the leaders of the Financial Services and Agriculture committees, which crafted the legislation. The vote was held open more than nine hours for the negotiations.
GOP hard-liners, who tanked a procedural vote on the bills Tuesday afternoon, were pushing to merge a sweeping crypto market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act with separate, partisan legislation to ban a central bank digital currency. The GOP chairs of the Financial Services and Agriculture panels, Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.), opposed that plan, fearing it would kill off Democratic support for the market structure bill.
The Republican rebels dropped their opposition after GOP leaders said they would attach a measure banning a CBDC — a government-issued digital dollar that conservatives say would open the door to privacy invasions — to a must-pass defense authorization bill. The deal came following a late-night meeting in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.
Trump called in at the very end and was briefed on the agreement, according to two people in the room granted anonymity to describe a private discussion. “He’s happy with it,” one of the people said.
“This breaks the logjam, allows us to get our work done,” Johnson afterward. The Louisiana Republican spoke to Senate Majority Leader John Thune Wednesday about adding the CBDC ban to the NDAA, according to two other people granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
The procedural vote tees the House up to adopt the crypto bills in the coming days. Johnson said he expects to vote on a Senate-approved measure that would create new rules for so-called stablecoins on Thursday. A vote on the CLARITY bill could be pushed to next week.
The stablecoin legislation, known as the GENIUS Act, would go to President Donald Trump’s desk and become the first major crypto bill ever passed by Congress, delivering a major lobbying victory to crypto firms.
The procedural vote also will allow the House to move swiftly on an amended package of spending clawbacks requested by Trump. As House Republicans struggled over crypto issues Wednesday, senators were grinding through votes in hopes of approving the rescissions package ahead of a Friday deadline.
White House officials have discussed potential candidates who could replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) if she elects not to run again in 2026, according to a person familiar with the conversation granted anonymity to speak about political strategy.
Though there is no discussion of pushing a primary on the 72-year old, President Donald Trump would love to see a “better option,” in place of one of his most persistent GOP critics, the person said.
Though she hasn’t formally launched a campaign, the Senate Appropriations chair confirmed Tuesday she is planning to run again and was “pleased” with strong fundraising she reported last week.
Collins’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The person declined to say who Trump might like to see run if Collins retires when her fifth term ends.
Collins – chair of the historically powerful Appropriations Committee — is one of a handful of lawmakers Democrats hope to knock out to retake the majority. Flipping Maine, which former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in 2024, would be much easier for Democrats if Collins decided not to run.
Collins, a moderate Republican, has faced an uphill battle in the Senate this month, with GOP leaders pushing through Trump’s megabill while snubbing some of her safety-net cutback concerns. In addition this week, Republicans are pushing through a Trump claw back effort of $9 billion in spending Collins helped approve.
Sen. Tina Smith has been admitted to the hospital after becoming ill Wednesday and won’t be available to help Democrats during crucial votes on the rescission package.
Smith was admitted to the hospital after feeling ill and will stay overnight for observation, her office said.
“While at work at the Capitol today, Sen. Smith started to not feel well. She went to the Capitol physician who recommended she undergo more thorough examination at GW hospital,” the statement read. “Out of an abundance of caution, they are keeping her overnight for observation. She expects to be back at work very soon.”
The Minnesota Democrat will be unable to help Democrats as they seek to make changes to the $9 billion package of funding clawbacks in a “vote-a-rama” amendment series.
Democrats have failed in their efforts thus far to block pieces of the proposed $1.1 billion in cuts to public media and $8.3 billion in cuts to foreign aid. Some Republicans have backed proposed amendments from Democrats, but not enough to overcome the Republican majority thus far.
Smith’s absence means that, barring any other absences, Republicans will not need to rely on Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote on any amendments this evening. Vance traveled to Pennsylvania earlier on Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Washington this evening.
-
The Josh Fourrier Show8 months agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Uncategorized8 months ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Politics8 months agoWhat 7 political experts will be watching at Tuesday’s debate
-
Politics8 months agoHow Republicans could foil Harris’ Supreme Court plans if she’s elected
-
Economy8 months ago
Fed moves to protect weakening job market with bold rate cut
-
Economy8 months ago
It’s still the economy: What TV ads tell us about each campaign’s closing message
-
Politics8 months agoRFK Jr.’s bid to take himself off swing state ballots may scramble mail-in voting
-
Uncategorized8 months ago
Johnson plans to bring House GOP short-term spending measure to House floor Wednesday