Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to the UN, pledged on Tuesday to pursue sweeping reforms at the global body and “make the UN great again”.
Appearing for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr Waltz criticised the UN for what he described as bloated bureaucracy, anti-American bias, and a record of inefficiency in preventing conflict.
“UN revenue has quadrupled in the last 20 years, yet world peace has not increased in equal measure,” he said.
Mr Waltz said he would make it his mission to target the “waste, fraud, and abuse endemic to the UN system”.
He defended Secretary General Antonio Guterres, saying he didn't think the UN chief would have his UN80 reform initiative “already on the table if he didn't take President Trump very seriously”.
“It’s worth remembering that despite budget reductions, the United States remains by far the most generous nation in the world,” he added.
He singled out the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and UN-run schools in Gaza for promoting what he called “anti-Semitic hate”.
Mr Waltz also defended Washington’s decision not to pay its full assessed dues last year, which left the US among 41 countries in arrears.
The US, which is assessed at 22 per cent of the UN's regular budget, remains its largest single contributor. China’s share is 20 per cent.
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the committee’s top Democrat, expressed concern that reducing US engagement at the UN would allow adversaries, such as China, to fill the void.
“If we walk away from international bodies like the UN, the result won’t be reforms that advance American interests,” she said. “I don’t think most Americans want to live in a world where the Chinese Communist Party is driving the agenda.”
Ms Shaheen urged Mr Waltz to work with Congress to preserve American leadership.
“We cannot shape these organisations or even push for reforms unless we’re at the table,” she said.
Mr Waltz said it was “absurd” that China continued to be treated as a developing nation and received favourable status at the UN.
Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group said it was striking that Mr Waltz and Democratic senators agreed on the need to counter Chinese influence at the UN as a top priority.
“Containing Beijing at the UN is a cross-party priority in Washington, but Chinese-US tensions could gum up UN deal-making in future,” he added.
Mr Trump’s former national security adviser defended his use of a group chat to discuss military plans as he faced accusations of mishandling sensitive information at Tuesday's hearing.
The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine said in March that Mr Waltz had mistakenly added him to a Signal group chat that included senior US officials discussing impending American air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The misstep drew widespread criticism and culminated in Mr Waltz’s dismissal from the role in May.
He acknowledged the error but insisted that no classified material was shared. Mr Waltz said he had followed the same encrypted messaging practices in place under the Biden administration and denied that the chat breached any internal security procedures.
“This was a mistake in contact management, not a breach of national security,” he said.
The committee is expected to vote on Mr Waltz’s nomination in the coming weeks.
If confirmed, Mr Waltz will be joined by Morgan Ortagus at the UN, where she will advise on policy. Until recently, she served as deputy special envoy to the Middle East and was overseeing the Lebanon portfolio.
