Michael Waltz, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, testified Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, outlining his vision to overhaul the UN’s bureaucracy, defend U.S. allies, and reassert American leadership on the global stage.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), in his introduction of Waltz, praised him as “one of the most well-qualified U.S. Ambassador nominees to the United Nations ever,” pointing to his service as a Green Beret colonel, policy director to two Secretaries of Defense, and three-term congressman. “He’s a seasoned policy mind and a skilled negotiator with a track record of diligently pursuing American interests,” Lee stated.
Waltz, in his opening remarks, emphasized the need for reform at the UN, warning it had “drifted from its core mission of peacemaking” and must return to first principles. “We should have one place in the world where everyone can talk—China, Russia, Europe, the developing world—and resolve conflicts,” he told the committee, “but we must return to the UN Charter.”
He criticized the UN’s inefficiency, highlighting decades-old missions and bureaucratic overlap that drain resources without delivering results. “The UN’s overall revenue quadrupled from $14.9 to $67.6 billion in the last 20 years,” Waltz observed, “yet I would argue that we have not seen a quadrupling of world peace.”
He raised concerns about China’s favorable treatment within UN agencies. “It’s absurd that the world’s second-largest economy is treated as a developing nation throughout UN agencies,” Waltz said. He warned that China is placing personnel in standard-setting bodies and pledged to work with Secretary Rubio to counter CCP influence across the UN system.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) cautioned that pulling back from global institutions like the UN would allow China to expand its influence unchecked. Waltz agreed, calling it “absolutely critical” for the U.S. to stay engaged and pointed to the Trump administration’s 2018 national security strategy, which pivoted the U.S. toward confronting near-peer threats like China.
Waltz also promised to take on the UN’s rampant antisemitism. He underscored that from 2015 to 2023, the UN General Assembly passed 154 resolutions targeting Israel, compared to just 71 for all other countries combined. He slammed UNRWA’s role in harboring Hamas-affiliated employees and teaching anti-Israel hate, calling for its complete dismantlement.
“We must also challenge pervasive antisemitism,” he remarked. “The reappointment of Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese… highlights this bias.” Waltz praised President Trump’s executive order restricting funding for anti-Israel bodies and backed Rep. Elise Stefanik’s call for a UN-based Abraham Accords Caucus.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) pressed Waltz on UN spending, noting that the U.S. contributed $13 billion to the United Nations last fiscal year. Waltz responded by listing a range of UN-affiliated organizations receiving U.S. tax dollars, such as the Pacific Salmon Commission and the Pan African Postal Union. “It is incumbent on this administration to say, what’s it doing? Is it making us safer, stronger, more prosperous?” he asserted.
Asked about preserving American sovereignty, Waltz stated plainly: “America’s sovereignty is and will always be first and foremost.”
On Iran, Waltz committed to helping ensure the regime never acquires a nuclear weapon, but also signaled openness to diplomacy under strict conditions. “We engaged in diplomacy, working with our partners in Oman,” he affirmed, “but they could not have a domestic enrichment capability if they want a civil nuclear program.”
In response to a question about what success would look like, Waltz responded: “It looks like, again, under the President and Secretary’s leadership, getting back to actually solving problems… We’ve talked about the antisemitism—that has to go. We’ve talked about the reforms in terms of these 80-plus agencies with often duplicative and wasteful mandates…”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) cited Waltz’s experience confronting dictators and ensuring U.S. taxpayer dollars were not used to support adversaries. Sen. Risch (R-ID) emphasized Waltz’s “pragmatism and patriotism,” saying they were “sorely needed in New York.”
His vision for the role was clear: “We must Make the UN Great Again,” he declared.
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